Читать книгу Pathways to Prayer - David Moffett-Moore - Страница 4

Beginning

This little volume is not a great theological treatise on the meaning and purpose of prayer, nor is it a scientific investigation on the function of prayer nor a psychological examination of prayer’s impact or influence in our lives. It is a simple little devotional intended to offer encouragement for those wanting to grow in their prayer lives, with some suggestions on how to do so. It can be read for an hour or studied for a life-time, according to the reader’s discretion. I pray that it may be helpful.

To be human is to seek for the holy, to look for meaning in one’s life. To be faithful is to live “as if”; as if our lives indeed have meaning, purpose, value. These must be taken on faith, for there is no way to prove them. The Divine is so far above and beyond anything that we can comprehend, yet it is precisely what we seek. It is what the scriptures call “what no eye has seen, nor ear heard, nor human imagination conceived.” It is what Rudolph Otto in The Idea of the Holy called the “mysterium tremendum,” the mystery that attracts and compels us. This is what we seek in our prayer.

I encourage you to read the words slowly, reflectively, meditatively. Not because the words or thoughts are so great, but because that which we seek is great beyond knowing or naming. Let them speak to heart as well as head. Share your reflections with another, and share your own prayer experiences. I encourage you in your quest; may it transcend these notes and transform your life!