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An invitation to a more participatory relationship with God through the power of prayer.
Nothing is more remarkable—or more beautiful—than an ordinary life, quietly transformed by prayer. This is the life that Deborah Smith Douglas chronicles—and invites readers into—in her lovely collection of essays and poems. Drawing from events as simple as breakfast with her five-year-old daughter or waiting in line at the post office, Douglas shows how a loving relationship with God can be nurtured in small ways every day. “Without my ever really intending it,” she writes, “my own life—as a wife and mother, daughter and friend—has taught me to see God hidden in the ordinary, to watch for God under the surface of things as a fisherman watches for fish.”
Woven into each of these pieces, along with reflections on the author’s experiences, are guidelines for readers watching for God in their own unique—and ordinary—lives. Divided into four sections—Ways of Praying, Healing, Spiritual Companionship, and Fruitfulness—The Praying Life will help Christians move from awareness of God’s presence in their lives to a deep participation in God’s love.
"Deborah Douglas' collection of essays and poems offers good theology, good wit, good pastoral common sense . . . This is a book to savor, to learn from, to delight in, to treasure." -The Living Church
"In this insightful, beautifully written book Deborah Smith Douglas shares what she perceives as the essence of the praying life-an awareness and recognition of God's presence that leads to self-giving. The book is a lovely and inspiring collection of essays and poetry." -Santa Fe Theologians
"This vision of God in the mundane forms the basis for Douglas' volume of beautiful essays and poems . . .This, and many other ordinary incidents Douglas recounts, is what can come from openness to God's love, itself a form of prayer." --The Plain Dealer
"Luminosity characterizes this thoughtful, inspiring volume. Essay after essay reminds me of the clarity of a trumpet's lofty note."
--St. Anthony Messenger
"When I finished reading The Praying Life, I put it down reluctantly and have found myself picking it up frequently to revisit passages that especially illuminated my life. The author's description of her own daily life with its fragmentation, it busyness, and her aging body speak to the depths of my soul. For all who know that these things will not change, but who seek to be transformed by God in the midst of them, this book will be a welcome companion." --Weavings