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Prayers Plainly Spoken
"If anything, these prayers are plain. They are so because I discovered I could not pray differently than I speak. In other words, I thought it would be a mistake to try to assume a different identity when I prayed. I figured (Texans 'figure') that God could take it, because God did not need to be protected. I think I learned this over the years by praying the Psalms in church. God does not want us to come to the altar different from how we live the rest of our lives.
So writes Stanley Hauerwas in the introduction to this collection of prayers, as inimitable as the widely respected (and argued with) theologian is himself. Originally prayed in Hauerwas's divinity school classroom - on a variety of occasions including war, births, Yom Kippur and the death of a beloved cat - they not only display an invigorating faith but demonstrate how late-modern Christians can pray with all the passion, turbulence and life of the ancient psalmists.
So writes Stanley Hauerwas in the introduction to this collection of prayers, as inimitable as the widely respected (and argued with) theologian is himself. Originally prayed in Hauerwas's divinity school classroom - on a variety of occasions including war, births, Yom Kippur and the death of a beloved cat - they not only display an invigorating faith but demonstrate how late-modern Christians can pray with all the passion, turbulence and life of the ancient psalmists.
Hardcover
First published May 1, 1999
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About the author
Stanley Hauerwas
167 books287 followersStanley Hauerwas (PhD, Yale University) is the Gilbert T. Rowe Professor of Theological Ethics at Duke University in Durham, North Carolina. He is the author of numerous books, including Cross-Shattered Christ, A Cross-Shattered Church, War and the American Difference, and Matthew in the Brazos Theological Commentary on the Bible.
America's Best Theologian according to Time Magazine (2001), though he rejected the title saying, "Best is not a theological category."
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Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews
August 19, 2020
Dear God, our lives are made possible by the murders of the past—civilization is built on slaughters. Acknowledging our debt to killers frightens and depresses us. We fear judging, so we say, “That’s in the past.” We fear to judge because in so judging we are judged. Help us, however, to learn to say no, to say, “Sinners though we are, that was and is wrong.” May we do so with love. Amen.
A book of fresh, liturgical prayers, prayed by Stanley Hauerwas at the beginning of his ethics course at Duke Divinity School. His wisdom and boldness is a joy! The prayers are shot through with his anti-violence perspective, and I also felt quite moved by his frequent references to the motherliness of God and to Mary, without being grand-stand-y. A beautiful little book.
Dear Jesus, send your Spirit on us so that we will be taught to pray. Prayer is hard, requiring great effort, but when done, effortless. I confess I have never liked to pray. Prayer is too much like begging. So I have to pray that your generous Spirit will teach me to beg. I beg you to help all of us discover that our lives are constituted by prayer, so that we may be in your world one mighty, joyous prayer. Make us so rested by such prayer, so content to be your people, that we kill no more. Amen.
November 6, 2015
I can't say enough about this little book. Hauerwas's prayers are humble, insightful, even funny. The real gem is his discussion in the introduction of his struggle in coming to be the one who said prayers. How do you do that? What is the nature of praying and those who pray for us? And what is the "stuff" of prayer? It's an excellent stepping stone for the spiritual journey.
August 10, 2023
I love the cover photo on the original InterVarsity Press edition of this book (later re-released by Wipf & Stock, with a different design). In the photo, we see an old stone church. Isolated. Ramshackle. The mountain landscape is shrouded in thick clouds—a layer of fog topped by a menacing gloom that threatens rain, or worse.
We know this building has endured some harsh weather. It’s unclear whether people continue to gather here to pray. But if there are still a few who do, the prayers in this profound collection from Hauerwas would be in their language. As the title of the book suggests, these are not polished prayers, nor are they overly pious. They are prayers for those who have endured stuff—prayers for those who no longer have the luxury of cliché.
Hauerwas, a theologian and ethicist who has written many scholarly and popular books, grew up in a working-class family in Texas. His father, a brick-layer, was the designated “pray-er” at extended family gatherings. And it was seen as a given that the younger Hauerwas would someday assume that responsibility. But praying spontaneously was not something that came naturally to him—not even after graduating from seminary and earning a PhD in theology. The written prayers of the church? Absolutely. His own ad-libbed offerings? Not so much. I’ll admit I can relate to that.
Joining the faculty of Duke Divinity School, and persuaded that he should start each class with a prayer, Hauerwas did the only thing he knew to do: he began writing prayers each morning before the students arrived. These prayers would often have to do with the day’s readings and lectures, or with recent world events, or the happy and sad occurrences in the life of their particular community of faith and learning.
Students began asking for copies of the prayers. Soon he was being encouraged to publish them. Hauerwas initially resisted making the prayers publicly available for the same reason he had been uncomfortable praying spontaneously: fear of praying to appear pious. I appreciate that impulse, even as I’m glad he eventually overcame his resistance.
In this collection are prayers about marriage, war and peace, chickens, hurricanes, Eucharist, fear, patience, and the deaths of students, colleagues, and pets. Profoundly biblical and theological prayers in profoundly plain language.
And then there’s the prayer he was invited to give before a Distinguished Professor’s luncheon. Hauerwas knew without being told that the university president was expecting something generic and predictable, the kind of prayer that wouldn’t offend or exclude. Because Hauerwas has been a vocal critic of watered-down civil religion—“A vague god vaguely prayed to serves no one well”—he initially declined the offer. But then he called back and said he’d do it after all. The prayer he wrote for the occasion is called “Addressing the God Who Is Not the ‘Ultimate Vagueness’” and it’s every bit as pointed as you’d imagine. (Due to his protest “and perhaps, prayer,” Hauerwas notes that the university has stopped having a prayer at this event.)
So no, Prayers Plainly Spoken is not a collection of polished, pious prayers. But neither are these prayers boring. Not by a long shot.
We know this building has endured some harsh weather. It’s unclear whether people continue to gather here to pray. But if there are still a few who do, the prayers in this profound collection from Hauerwas would be in their language. As the title of the book suggests, these are not polished prayers, nor are they overly pious. They are prayers for those who have endured stuff—prayers for those who no longer have the luxury of cliché.
Hauerwas, a theologian and ethicist who has written many scholarly and popular books, grew up in a working-class family in Texas. His father, a brick-layer, was the designated “pray-er” at extended family gatherings. And it was seen as a given that the younger Hauerwas would someday assume that responsibility. But praying spontaneously was not something that came naturally to him—not even after graduating from seminary and earning a PhD in theology. The written prayers of the church? Absolutely. His own ad-libbed offerings? Not so much. I’ll admit I can relate to that.
Joining the faculty of Duke Divinity School, and persuaded that he should start each class with a prayer, Hauerwas did the only thing he knew to do: he began writing prayers each morning before the students arrived. These prayers would often have to do with the day’s readings and lectures, or with recent world events, or the happy and sad occurrences in the life of their particular community of faith and learning.
Students began asking for copies of the prayers. Soon he was being encouraged to publish them. Hauerwas initially resisted making the prayers publicly available for the same reason he had been uncomfortable praying spontaneously: fear of praying to appear pious. I appreciate that impulse, even as I’m glad he eventually overcame his resistance.
In this collection are prayers about marriage, war and peace, chickens, hurricanes, Eucharist, fear, patience, and the deaths of students, colleagues, and pets. Profoundly biblical and theological prayers in profoundly plain language.
And then there’s the prayer he was invited to give before a Distinguished Professor’s luncheon. Hauerwas knew without being told that the university president was expecting something generic and predictable, the kind of prayer that wouldn’t offend or exclude. Because Hauerwas has been a vocal critic of watered-down civil religion—“A vague god vaguely prayed to serves no one well”—he initially declined the offer. But then he called back and said he’d do it after all. The prayer he wrote for the occasion is called “Addressing the God Who Is Not the ‘Ultimate Vagueness’” and it’s every bit as pointed as you’d imagine. (Due to his protest “and perhaps, prayer,” Hauerwas notes that the university has stopped having a prayer at this event.)
So no, Prayers Plainly Spoken is not a collection of polished, pious prayers. But neither are these prayers boring. Not by a long shot.
June 21, 2024
Though I would have wanted to give this book five stars just for the cover, I also thought that the contents were excellent! 😊 Stanley Hauerwas has a way with words, and this is very evident in his prayers. They're simple, but profound, and often made me think, as well as chuckle at his honest statements to God.
August 17, 2021
Simple. Revealing. Worth reading for anyone who desires to communicate with God. Hauerwas is instructionally giving and helpful as he prays - and leads us to pray.
July 24, 2015
Duke University Professor Stanley Hauerwas's book on prayer includes a wide variety of bold, refreshing, and at times, controversial prayers. The book is outlined through a beginnings, living in between, and an endings. As for how he titled the book, in his Introduction ("God does not want us to come to the altar different from how we live the rest of our lives"), "I could not pray differently than I speak" (14). I think there's a lot of truth in that. However, I also think some people don't want to hear us revere God in public. This is an ongoing dilemma that requires discernment for us Christians to "be led by the [Holy] Spirit" as to when we should say things out loud and when we shouldn't.
I think this prayer book, regardless of whether one agrees with it or not, can be really helpful as we think through what is being stated in them. In the future, I hope to write these out myself and include my own contributions to them by adding or deleting certain things. This could be a very refreshing way to connect with God this year and beyond.
I think this prayer book, regardless of whether one agrees with it or not, can be really helpful as we think through what is being stated in them. In the future, I hope to write these out myself and include my own contributions to them by adding or deleting certain things. This could be a very refreshing way to connect with God this year and beyond.
January 18, 2008
If you hate Hauerwas (and everybody does, at least a little) then stay away from this one. But if you have wrestled with him and are at peace with his idosyncratic, unique perspective, then you will find some gems in here. This is good for devotional use. Its useful for finding phrases for leaidng prayer in certain corporate worship settings. It is helpful for theological reflection.
From time to time my Orthodox Reformed theology bristles at his Arminian (though unevenly so), Neo-Orthodoxy. That's not the point. If you want a 'safer', more staid, noble, reformed set of prayers, get Hughes O. Old's excellent Leading in Prayer: A Workbook. But if you wnat a challenge and a laugh, Hauerwas is great.
BTW -- also a great dustjacket, a handy size, good typeface, and a nice tight binding by IVP (as usual).
From time to time my Orthodox Reformed theology bristles at his Arminian (though unevenly so), Neo-Orthodoxy. That's not the point. If you want a 'safer', more staid, noble, reformed set of prayers, get Hughes O. Old's excellent Leading in Prayer: A Workbook. But if you wnat a challenge and a laugh, Hauerwas is great.
BTW -- also a great dustjacket, a handy size, good typeface, and a nice tight binding by IVP (as usual).
April 21, 2015
Wonderfully honest prayers. One example:
Theology as a Way to Control You
Revealing and Terrifying God, whose very revelation is mystery, forgive our frightened attempts to possess you. You have created us for yourself, but we find that hard to believe, much less live. So we strut across your creation as if we really understood you. Theology becomes our way to try to be in control, dear God, even of you. So we ask for the humility that comes from the unavoidable recognition that you insist on our being your people. What an extraordinary thing. Amen.
Theology as a Way to Control You
Revealing and Terrifying God, whose very revelation is mystery, forgive our frightened attempts to possess you. You have created us for yourself, but we find that hard to believe, much less live. So we strut across your creation as if we really understood you. Theology becomes our way to try to be in control, dear God, even of you. So we ask for the humility that comes from the unavoidable recognition that you insist on our being your people. What an extraordinary thing. Amen.
May 3, 2010
I'm not sure of the theology behind some of these prayers, but a prayer for even chickens captures the mind! Sometimes I get trapped behind my ideas of how big/small God is, and viewing prayer as a poem, shakes me out of my complacency.
April 26, 2008
Plain, indeed; honest and funny. Started my days with a prayer from this book for the past couple months.
Read
October 30, 2009Another great book of prayers. Hauerwas is raw honest and desperatly in search of an authentic and living faith, corporately calling us awake, care and seek God in the daily events of our lives.
August 3, 2010
Wonderful prayers for everyday. . . comfort, anger, frustration, joy, confusion, and peace.
December 9, 2011
Beautiful, convicting, uplifting prayer book.
January 29, 2016
Even for someone who's never read Hauerwas, this book is a wonderful, devotional, prayerful experience. It's remarkably simple and yet theologically rich. It's perfect for coffee tables.
April 30, 2016
Hauerwas' writing is immediate and tense, funny and flowing, reverent and irreverent.
JA
JA
Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews