Praying with the Church: Following Jesus Daily, Hourly, Today (Paperback)

by Scot McKnight (Author)
Key Phrases: sacred prayer rhythms, major prayer books, rhythmical prayer, Lord's Prayer, The Liturgy of the Hours, The Divine Hours (more...)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly
The so-called "high church" branches of Christianity have practiced liturgical prayer, or prayer with set words and at set hours, for centuries. In this folksy, practical and welcoming guidebook for Protestants unacquainted with, or perhaps even suspicious of, what he calls the "prayer book tradition" of the Church, McKnight attempts to root liturgical prayer in three things: biblical practice, a theology based on "loving God and loving others" and an ecumenical sensitivity to the riches of various Christian traditions. A professor of religious studies at North Park University and a popular writer on Christian spirituality, McKnightexplores the Jewish practice of prayer, how Jesus practiced prayer and how various denominations use the Psalms and the Bible as foundations for liturgy. He also draws from his own experiences to illustrate how Christians can use prayer books grounded in the Orthodox, Roman Catholic and Anglican traditions. "Praying with the Church," he writes, "involves allowing our own prayer lives to be adjusted to the sacred rhythms of the Church's prayer tradition." Laced with quotations from many "real-life" users, this helpful volume concludes with a chapter on how prayer book liturgies can be adapted for individual use. (May)
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Product Details

• Paperback: 176 pages
• Publisher: Paraclete Press (MA) (May 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1557254818
• ISBN-13: 978-1557254818
• Product Dimensions: 7.8 x 5.3 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #436,117 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

27 of 27 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Terrific Invitation to the Sacred Rhythm of Prayer, May 16, 2006

By	Matt Wiebe - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I was privileged enough to receive a free copy of this book thanks to the generousity of Paraclete Press in a promotion on Scot McKnight's blog. I just finished reading the book and I must say that the book was perfect at doing what it wanted to do, namely: introducing low-church Christians such as myself to the richness and depth of fixed-hour prayer.

For me, the best part of the book was McKnight's obvious but startling revelation that Jesus would have found himself within the Jewish fixed-hour prayer tradition. There is no stronger argument for fixed-hour prayer than the fact that our Lord Himself was most certainly a practitioner of it and following Him would of course mean following Him in this practice. Again, this would be obvious to many, but for those raised outside of liturgical traditions such as myself, this is a fresh insight.

Secondly, I very much appreciated McKnight's continual reminder that this is not a replacement for spontaneous prayer, but a wellspring for it. I currently find my prayer life devoid of much depth or meaning (or consistency for that matter) and the ability to pray along with some of the giants of the Church makes me not have to feel like praying in order to pray consistenly and well.

Probably the other most important point that McKnight raises is that praying in this manner does not necessarily lead to "vain repetitions" any more than telling your spouse that you love them continually will. This and the afforementioned points should clear away any ignorant debris that would prevent non-liturgically reared Christians such as myself from embracing this ancient and valuable practice.

McKnight concludes by walking the reader through the absolute basics of praying the main prayer books from the Orthodox, Roman Catholic and Anglican traditions in addition to the contemporary "Divine Hours" by Phyllis Tickle. The strongest advice he gives is that it would be best to find an experienced person to help you develop this practice in your life. I hope to find just such a person soon!

24 of 24 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Praying WITH The Church, May 16, 2006

By	Drew B. Moser "(www.drewmoser.com)" (Archbold, OH USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Having grown up in the rural, evangelical Midwest, I was raised with the limited (very limited) understanding that `liturgy' was something those `weird' churches did, and that it was dry, boring, and irrelevant. Beyond such limited knowledge, I had no idea what `hours' meant (other than a period of time consisting of 60 minutes), or what a `daily office' was (other than a place where you go to work). Little did I know the connection to a global prayer movement that has thrived for centuries.

Even though I have since learned what these terms mean, the idea of using a liturgical prayer book still seemed so foreign to me. What I needed was an easy to read primer on `praying with the church'. Thankfully, Scot McKnight delivered with his new book Praying With the Church.

Like McKnight, and countless other evangelicals, I was very familiar with the practice of praying IN the church (spontaneous prayer gatherings, `popcorn' prayer, prayer meetings, etc). But what my prayer life has lacked was an ordered prayer habit WITH the global church. Merging the two forms of prayer together, orchestrates what McKnight calls a "sacred rhythm of prayer".

This book is perfect for Christians such as me, eager to enrich one's prayer life, but lacking in instruction on how to pray WITH the church. To those from Anglican, Orthodox, Celtic, Catholic traditions, this book will simply preach to the choir (maybe Scot will follow up with Praying IN the Church for those of liturgical backgrounds!).

After some introductory comments on his personally journey of learning how to pray WITH the church, he reexamines the prayer life of Jesus, who most definitely joined in the fixed prayer schedule of first century Judaism.

With such a foundation laid, he then surveys the major streams of fixed, rhythmic prayer in the church today (Eastern Orthodox, Roman Catholic, Anglican, and the ecumenical Divine Hours). Each chapter is a helpful introduction on how to use the prayer books from each tradition, what each book's strengths and weaknesses are, and how these books came to be written.

A book on sacred, fixed prayer could easily overwhelm a reader like me. Which book should I choose? There are so many! Fortunately, McKnight is careful to keep his instruction as readable as possible, and he frequently suggests taking this new path of prayer realistically: "Set realistic expectations...avoid the heroic."

Praying WITH the Church is not meant to be a limiting, mindless `prayer prison', where the Holy Spirit is shut out for the sake of uniformity. Rather, praying with the church is a way to join the global church in guided prayers steeped in the Word of God, in tune with the rhythm of life God has instilled within His creation.

To those evangelical sisters and brothers who are wary of `fixed prayer', McKnight offers a valid point. "no one can dispute the tendency for fixed-hour prayers to slip into mindless, memorized mouthing of words. Whose fault, we need to ask is, that." I know I have fallen into the same trap in my own, spontaneous prayer life. I find myself almost reciting the same requests, the same praises, without passion or fervor.

What's my verdict: thumbs up or thumbs down? I give Praying With the Church a wholehearted thumbs up for anyone (especially those from evangelical backgrounds) who is searching for a richer, deeper, prayer life. I'd highly encourage you all to pick up a copy of this book, and then pick up one of the prayer books he recommends. (One of Phyllis Tickle's volumes of The Divine Hours is being shipped to me as I write this review.)

Imagine the power of a global church praying together...

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Short, Helpful Introduction to Set Times of Prayer, June 24, 2006

By	J. Brown (Belfast, Northern Ireland) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

As one who is originally from a very low church background, I appreciated what McKnight was trying to achieve with this little book - to demonstrate the value of regular fixed hours of prayer by using a traditional prayer book. He suggests that not only should we maintain our own "spontaneous" prayers, but that by using the traditional set prayers of various traditions, we can learn to pray with the Church - not alone within the church, but with it.

The first part of the book deals with Jesus in prayer and the wider Jewish tradition. Also, how having fixed hours of prayer helps to reorientate our lives around a sacred rhythm. We should no longer shape our day around breakfast, lunch, and dinner, or before work, work, and after work, but around our times of prayer. Thus, we centre our daily lives around our communion with God, and after the pattern of Jesus' own praxis.

The second part of the book introduces us to each of the major prayer books of the Roman Catholic, the Orthodox, and the Anglican traditions. He gives a useful sketch of what each entails and how they might be profitably used based on his own experience.

This was a short, helpful little book for those new to prayer books and set times of prayer. I've even been persuaded to go out and buy a copy of the Book of Common Prayer (the Anglican one). I'll use it for a few months and then maybe give an update on how I've found my journey. The only complaint I have is that it is punctuated by personal testimonies of the value others have found since taking up set times of prayer. It's not that I object to this at all, but it was a bit overdone - there wasn't any need for quite so many. Nonetheless, 7/10.