Perspectives on Prayer and Spirituality

"Spirituality" has become a buzzword in our contemporary culture as individuals strive for meaning and fulfillment. Its detachment from the church and conventional definitions of religious practice highlights the seeming redundancy of what has come before. "Spirituality" in this light signals a new attempt to find wholeness unencumbered by outmoded doctrines and stale rituals. It is the conviction of this publication that the intuition behind contemporary searches for spiritual reality is a good one. It acknowledges that there must be more to life than what secular media or consumerism might tell us. The joyful message of Perspectives on Prayer and Spirituality is that the spiritual quest is a valid one and worth exploring. There is treasure to be found. However, the surprise is that we must rediscover what we have left behind. In the words of G. K. Chesterton, "it is not that the Christian ideal has been tried and found wanting, rather it has been found difficult and left untried." This book offers us the tools to mine the riches of Christian spirituality and find that elusive treasure. The title, Perspectives on Prayer and Spirituality, alerts us to the fact that life-giving spirituality stems from relationship with a personal God who can be known.