Prayers

by Stephen W. Hiemstra

Spirituality is lived belief. When we pray, worship, or reach out to our neighbors, we live out our beliefs. Our beliefs structure our spirituality like skin stretched over the bones of our bodies. These beliefs start with faith in God the Father through Jesus Christ as revealed through the Holy Spirit in scripture, in the church, and in daily life. Our Trinitarian theology orders our beliefs. Without a coherent theology, we lose our identity in space and time having no map or compass to guide us on our way. In the end, we focus on ourselves, not God. Christian spirituality starts with God, not with us. A Christian Guide to Spirituality takes the form of 50 daily devotions. Each topic is treated with a scriptural reference and a prayer. Reading A Christian Guide to Spirituality will help readers understand Christian spirituality better and nurture their faith. There is no such thing as quality time with the Lord; there is only time. The living God speaks to us in many ways, but especially through scripture. These three sources cited (Apostle's Creed, Lord's Prayer, and Ten Commandments) are commonly called the "rule of faith" (regula fidei) and were utilized for nearly two millennia as a means to apprentice the faith. These sources are the heart of the confessions of most Christian faith communities and denominations. Hear the words; walk the steps; experience the joy!

65 pages, Kindle Edition

Published April 3, 2017

About the author

Author Stephen W. Hiemstra (MDiv, PhD) is a slave of Christ, husband, father, tentmaker, economist, and writer. He lives with Maryam, his wife of thirty years, in Centreville, VA and they have three grown children.

Stephen has been an active writer throughout his career; both as an economist, and as a pastor. As an economist of 27 years in 5 federal agencies, he published numerous government studies, magazine articles, and book reviews. A Christian Guide to Spirituality is, however, his first published book. The Spanish edition, Una Guía Cristiana a la Espiritualidad, was published in September 2015 and is now available on Amazon.com.

One of Stephen's recent books, Life in Tension: Reflections on the Beatitudes, was published on August 27, 2016 in paperback and Kindle.

Stephen is currently a second career tentmaker dividing his time equally between Hispanic ministry and blogging with an online pastor theme—this online ministry normally takes the form of offering bible studies, writing commentaries on helpful books, and reflecting on spiritual topics. As a hospital chaplain intern, he worked in the emergency department, a psychiatric unit, and an Alzheimer’s unit. He is an elder in Centreville Presbyterian Church.

He has a master’s of divinity (MDiv, 2013) from Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary in Charlotte, NC. His doctorate (PhD, 1985) is in agricultural economics from Michigan State University in East Lansing, MI. Although a U.S. citizen, Stephen lived and studied both in Puerto Rico and Germany, and is conversational in both Spanish and German.

Reviews

[Deborah Halnon · Rating 5 out of 5]

Bible Prayers

This book has lots of Protestant prayers, but not very many Catholic prayers.

Catholics in their prayer tradition have the Creeds, the Rosary, and Chaplets.

[Jeff · Rating 5 out of 5]

Prayers worth praying

Recommending this book of fifty prayers. Probably best used over fifty days. Helpful thoughts. Centering prayers out of a Reformed background.