Learning to Pray: A Guide for Everyone

By James Martin and James Martin

Book Overview

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER

"A smart, wise, often side-splittingly funny master class in seeking God. Any spiritual seeker--from atheist to professional religious--will cherish this bravura tome from one of our great spiritual guides, in the lineage of C. S. Lewis, Henri Nouwen, Thomas Merton, Gandhi, and Mother Teresa. Hallelujah & amen "--Mary Karr, author of Lit and The Liar's Club

One of America's most beloved spiritual leaders and the New York Times bestselling author of The Jesuit Guide to (Almost) Everything and Jesus: A Pilgrimage teaches anyone to converse with God in this comprehensive guide to prayer.

Learning to Pray is a profound and practical handbook that explains what prayer is, what to expect from praying, how to do it, and how it can transform us when we make it a regular practice in our lives.

A trusted guide walking beside us as we navigate our unique spiritual paths, Father James Martin lays out the different styles and traditions of prayer throughout Christian history and invites us to experiment and discover which works best to feed our soul and build intimacy with our Creator. Father Martin makes clear there is not one secret formula for praying. But like any relationship, each person can discover the best style for building an intimate relationship with God, regardless of religion or denomination. Prayer, he teaches us, is open and accessible to anyone willing to open their heart.

If you want to deepen your prayer practice and grow in faith, Learning to Pray offers a variety of methods and approaches to prayer that are accessible and user-friendly. This book is for the beginners in prayer and those experienced in the way of the Spirit.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0062643231
• ISBN13: 9780062643230
• Release Date: February 2021
• Publisher: HarperOne
• Length: 400 Pages
• Weight: 1.48 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.3" x 6.3" x 9.2"

Customer Reviews

This book changed my life

I remember my mother sitting me down when I was 7 and teaching me how to say the Rosary. That was the last time that someone tried to teach me to pray until I picked up this book. Prayer for me was mostly a frustrating experience with occasional moments of grace. Fr. Martin starts out by sharing some personal experiences of prayer and answering some basic questions: what is prayer? Why do people pray? Later, he answers questions such as, "what happens when you pray?" and "how do I know if this is coming from God?" Mostly, the book covers different prayer techniques. Some are very formal and structured, while others are very abstract and free-form. Fr. Martin gives instructions on how to practice each technique and encourages you to try each one out for yourself until you find the techniques that work best for you. While Fr. Martin writes from a Catholic perspective, his approach is ecumenical. You don't have to be a Catholic, or even a Christian, to get something out of this book. All you need is a willingness to open yourself up to communicating with God.