Praying in the Wesleyan Spirit: 52 Prayers for Today

By Paul Wesley Chilcote

John Wesley (1703 - 1791), one of the greatest preachers of all time, preached more than 40,000 sermons. Wesley's sermons centered on God's unconditional love, freely offered to all through Christ. Wesley preached at coal mines and in fields and sparked a great spiritual renewal. Wesley's published sermons instructed the people in Christian discipleship and explained the core understandings of the Methodist movement.

Praying in the Wesleyan Spirit offers contemporary readers an approach to Wesley's spiritual depth. Author Paul Chilcote has transposed 52 of Wesley's standard sermons into flowing devotional prayers that are written in contemporary language, yet faithful to Wesley's message. A scripture reference and a hymn by Charles Wesley accompany each prayer. The prayers offer a means of reflecting on such topics as salvation by faith, yearning for God, and Christian perfection. Like Wesley's sermons, these prayers show a concern to reveal how God works in the world. The prayers also engage the head and hands and heart in the same way that Wesley understood Christian discipleship.

With 52 prayers, readers may pray one prayer a week for a year and immerse themselves in a ?short course? in Wesleyan thought and theology. This one-of-a-kind prayer book will introduce readers to a rich heritage of Christian discipleship and is a ?must have? devotional book for those active in the Wesleyan tradition. A Scripture Index and a Hymn Index are also included.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0835809501
• ISBN13: 9780835809504
• Release Date: February 2001
• Publisher: Upper Room Books
• Length: 184 Pages
• Weight: 0.55 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.4" x 5.4" x 7.9"

Customer Reviews

Great Addition to Devotional Time

Keep this book where you do your devotions! It is a wonderful prayer resource. The prayers reflect the content of varioius John Wesley sermons. I pick one every day and continue to go back to the beginning after 52 days.

"That's Me"

"That's me", is what I get from anyone I read a passage of this book. 52 prayers accompanied by scripture and the words of a hymn. The prayers are based on the doctrinal writings of John Wesley and read like poetry. Their succinct messages hit home with readers as the prayers take on contemporary issues like bigotry, fear, types of people, Christianity, etc. I have ordered additional copies to give to friends and plan to use one of the prayers as the base for a service we'll be doing this summer.

Enriching

Each prayer is wonderfully written and Paul Chilcote captures the essence of Wesley's teaching. Praying is not easy for me, and it has been a delight to incorporate the reading of a single prayer from this book both when I first awake and last thing before I sleep. Paul Chilicote manages to write as though his very words are my own thoughts and struggles and brings me to an attitude of reflection and thoughtfullness as I prepare to offer my personal prayers to our Lord. I expect this book will be read many times over.

Prayers in the Language of Today's Heart

In the 18th century John Wesley took church to the people. He preached at British coal fields as well as in urban centers. 53 of his sermons became known as the Standard Sermons and were used as teaching tools.Paul Chilcote distilled the 18th century language of Wesley's sermons (which might take an hour or more if read aloud) into 53 lyrical prayers. Very accessible. Very real. Very much in tune with the language of today's heart. These are prayers to pray daily and weekly, prayers to let grow from the lips and travel to the mind and the heart, prayers to become a part of the soul. Chilcote's work updates Wesley and continues to speak to Wesley's concern for the spiritual formation of all people.