Most Christians want to experience spiritual transformation. But many are frustrated by the limited progress of our spiritual self-improvement efforts. We find our praying burdened by a sense of obligation and failure. But prayer is not merely something we do; prayer is what God does in us. Prayer is not just communication with God; it is communion with God. As we open ourselves to him, God does the spiritual work of transformation in us. Spiritual director David Benner invites us to discover openness to God as the essence of prayer, spirituality and the Christian life. Prayer is far more than saying words to God; all of life can be prayer when offered to God in faith and with openness. Using the four movements of lectio divina, Benner explores prayer as attending, pondering, responding and being. Along the way he opens us to a world of possibilities for communion with God: praying with our senses, with imagination, with music and creativity, in contemplation, in service and much more. Learn how prayer can be a way of living your life. Move beyond words to become not merely someone who prays, but someone whose entire life is prayer in union with God.
Opening to God: Lectio Divina and Life as Prayer
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"David Benner has given us another great gift with Opening to God. A tremendous book on prayer for people at all stages of their relationship with God. Practical, devotional and rich. This is a book I will go back to again and again." (Peter Scazzero, pastor and author of Emotionally Healthy Spirituality)
"In Opening to God David Benner comes alongside our lives as a wise and discerning companion. His words water our desire for God, encourage us in our spiritual practice and widen our lenses through which we view the landscape of prayer. They will speak to any heart that longs for a deeper, closer and more intimate walk with God." (Trevor Hudson, South African pastor and author of Questions God Asks and Discovering Our Spiritual Identity: Practices for God's Beloved (forthcoming))
"One of the great blessings of my life is to have experienced scores of warm and insightful conversations with David Benner. I have walked away from almost every one with a deeper openness to the transforming love of God. And that is exactly how I was impacted while reading this wonderful book. What a gift! Life as lectio; life as prayer." (Gary W. Moon, M.Div., Ph.D., vice president and integration chair, Richmont Graduate University, and author of Apprenticeship with Jesus)
"Opening to God is an invitation to prayer--not just a book about prayer, but a guide for daily practice. Like an intimate retreat with a spiritual master, it brings centuries of wisdom close enough to speak to our lives. I've never met David Benner, but I felt like I was reading someone who'd listened to my prayers." (Jonathan Wilson-Hartgrove (www.jonathanwilsonhartgrove.com), coauthor, Becoming the Answer to Our Prayers)
"David Benner's Opening to God should become a classic! It is warm, wise, gentle and challenging. For the beginner or the experienced it offers guidance in the Christian prayer practice of lectio divina, making this ancient monastic approach to prayer wonderfully accessible to the contemporary seeker. By no means is it a rigid or opaque 'how to' book, but rather an invitation to go ever deeper in the life of prayer. Reading it is like a conversation with a trusted friend." (Margaret Guenther, Episcopal priest and author of Holy Listening: The Art of Spiritual Direction and The Practice of Prayer)
"In Opening to God, David Benner has gifted us with a thoughtful and comprehensive guide to Christian prayer. The intimacy with which Benner writes about prayer betrays a deep and abiding knowledge of the subject, thus this book is destined to be valued by individuals and groups alike in their quest for more intimacy with God." (Tony Jones (http://tonyj.net), author of The Sacred Way: Spiritual Practices in Everyday Life)
"This book represents a new maturity in spiritual thinking and teaching. David Benner is wise, broad and deep all at the same time. And you will be too after you finish this wonderful book." (Richard Rohr, O.F.M., Center for Action and Contemplation, Albuquerque, New Mexico)
"In Opening to God, David Benner has given us a generous, comprehensive and very pastoral guide not only to the myriad types of prayer open to us as Christians, but also to the informing attitudes and physical nuances which can enable a rich prayer life in all of us." (Phyllis Tickle, compiler, The Divine Hours)
"In Opening to God David Benner comes alongside our lives as a wise and discerning companion. His words water our desire for God, encourage us in our spiritual practice and widen our lenses through which we view the landscape of prayer. They will speak to any heart that longs for a deeper, closer and more intimate walk with God." (Trevor Hudson, South African pastor and author of Questions God Asks and Discovering Our Spiritual Identity: Practices for God's Beloved (forthcoming))
"One of the great blessings of my life is to have experienced scores of warm and insightful conversations with David Benner. I have walked away from almost every one with a deeper openness to the transforming love of God. And that is exactly how I was impacted while reading this wonderful book. What a gift! Life as lectio; life as prayer." (Gary W. Moon, M.Div., Ph.D., vice president and integration chair, Richmont Graduate University, and author of Apprenticeship with Jesus)
"Opening to God is an invitation to prayer--not just a book about prayer, but a guide for daily practice. Like an intimate retreat with a spiritual master, it brings centuries of wisdom close enough to speak to our lives. I've never met David Benner, but I felt like I was reading someone who'd listened to my prayers." (Jonathan Wilson-Hartgrove (www.jonathanwilsonhartgrove.com), coauthor, Becoming the Answer to Our Prayers)
"David Benner's Opening to God should become a classic! It is warm, wise, gentle and challenging. For the beginner or the experienced it offers guidance in the Christian prayer practice of lectio divina, making this ancient monastic approach to prayer wonderfully accessible to the contemporary seeker. By no means is it a rigid or opaque 'how to' book, but rather an invitation to go ever deeper in the life of prayer. Reading it is like a conversation with a trusted friend." (Margaret Guenther, Episcopal priest and author of Holy Listening: The Art of Spiritual Direction and The Practice of Prayer)
"In Opening to God, David Benner has gifted us with a thoughtful and comprehensive guide to Christian prayer. The intimacy with which Benner writes about prayer betrays a deep and abiding knowledge of the subject, thus this book is destined to be valued by individuals and groups alike in their quest for more intimacy with God." (Tony Jones (http://tonyj.net), author of The Sacred Way: Spiritual Practices in Everyday Life)
"This book represents a new maturity in spiritual thinking and teaching. David Benner is wise, broad and deep all at the same time. And you will be too after you finish this wonderful book." (Richard Rohr, O.F.M., Center for Action and Contemplation, Albuquerque, New Mexico)
"In Opening to God, David Benner has given us a generous, comprehensive and very pastoral guide not only to the myriad types of prayer open to us as Christians, but also to the informing attitudes and physical nuances which can enable a rich prayer life in all of us." (Phyllis Tickle, compiler, The Divine Hours)
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More About the Author
Dr. David G. Benner is an internationally known depth psychologist, author, lecturer and cartographer of the human spirit and soul. The underlying passion of his life has been the understanding and pursuit of transformation - not merely healing or even growth, but the unfolding of the self associated with a journey of awakening. This has been the focus of his more than three decades of work in psychoanalytic psychotherapy and his more recent work as a transformational architect and coach. He can be found online through his website at http://www.drdavidgbenner.ca/ or on Facebook at www.facebook.com/DrDavidGBenner or Twitter @drdavidgbenner.
Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
30 of 30 people found the following review helpful
By A. Morgan
Format:Hardcover
David Benner writes "Prayer is living with openness to God. Our life becomes a prayer, and our prayer becomes our life as we begin to live with this openness as the core posture of our hearts" (pg 156).
I wonder how many of us can say that our prayer life is about openness to God. It is so easy to categorize prayer as an 'act' that we start and finish at some point in the day. Some of us have longer times of prayer than others but it is almost always seen as a period of time with a beginning and end. For Benner, this is not enough. Prayer is far more than that. In a winsome way Benner encourages us to look afresh at prayer. The heart of the book (chps 3-8) take us through the 'movements' of Lectio Divina, an ancient form of prayer using scripture, allowing the words of God to penetrate deep into our spirits. But the first two chapters and the introduction are as good an introduction to what is prayer and how we should prepare for prayer than I have ever read. I challenge you to read this book and not come away from it longing not just to pray more but to live a life of prayer. This book is a great addition to the books available on prayer. The only worry is that there are so many books on prayer that this 'gem' might be overlooked. Don't overlook it.
Highly recommended.
I wonder how many of us can say that our prayer life is about openness to God. It is so easy to categorize prayer as an 'act' that we start and finish at some point in the day. Some of us have longer times of prayer than others but it is almost always seen as a period of time with a beginning and end. For Benner, this is not enough. Prayer is far more than that. In a winsome way Benner encourages us to look afresh at prayer. The heart of the book (chps 3-8) take us through the 'movements' of Lectio Divina, an ancient form of prayer using scripture, allowing the words of God to penetrate deep into our spirits. But the first two chapters and the introduction are as good an introduction to what is prayer and how we should prepare for prayer than I have ever read. I challenge you to read this book and not come away from it longing not just to pray more but to live a life of prayer. This book is a great addition to the books available on prayer. The only worry is that there are so many books on prayer that this 'gem' might be overlooked. Don't overlook it.
Highly recommended.
7 of 7 people found the following review helpful
Format:Kindle Edition|Amazon Verified Purchase
The image Benner creates in this book is the desire God has to bring us into
constant awareness of His presence and deep communion to Him. Our lack of awareness of His nearness is due to our being fearful or otherwise unwilling to open ourselves to Him. he has already revealed His deep desire to be come near to us through His atoning sacrifice. Benner describes the practice of Lectio Divina as a discipline that will help one open to God's presence. Overall, I found this book to be quite uplifting and refreshing. It is a wonderful book for personal spiritual encouragement. It would be well suited for a small group discussion guide, or a message series on personal spiritual growth and learning to walk with the Lord. I would highly recommend it.
constant awareness of His presence and deep communion to Him. Our lack of awareness of His nearness is due to our being fearful or otherwise unwilling to open ourselves to Him. he has already revealed His deep desire to be come near to us through His atoning sacrifice. Benner describes the practice of Lectio Divina as a discipline that will help one open to God's presence. Overall, I found this book to be quite uplifting and refreshing. It is a wonderful book for personal spiritual encouragement. It would be well suited for a small group discussion guide, or a message series on personal spiritual growth and learning to walk with the Lord. I would highly recommend it.
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
This book takes the ancient practice of lectio divina and expands it into a way of prayerful living. A very good book to read if you think your idea of prayer needs to be stretched: "Prayer is not simply words that we offer when we speak to God but an opening of our self to God." Benner helps his readers move from an idea of prayer as something you do--or ought to do--to prayer as a way of living your whole life: "Something is seriously wrong when prayer feels like something we should do. Prayer, more accurately, is something God does in us." Benner says that "transformation is foundational to spirituality." The primary focus of this book is not on how prayer changes things, but on how prayer changes those who pray. This is a very well written and thoughtful book with very practical application sections at the end of each chapter. I highly recommend it.
Most Recent Customer Reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars
Psychology, Praxis, Prayer
David G. Benner's ability to turn a phrase sometimes reminds me of C. S. Lewis. Seems like a stretch doesn't it, but that's who came to mind. Read more
Published 6 months ago by Dawn Duncan Harrell
4.0 out of 5 stars
A monk
It is practical and benefit for those who take their spiritual lives seriously. This book is for every one who wants to deepen an intimate relationship with God, the source of... Read more
Published 7 months ago by Liem
