Khát Khao Cầu Nguyện

by Jacques Philippe, Lm. Minh Anh (Translator)

Điều mà thế giới cần nhất hôm nay là cầu nguyện. Chính cầu nguyện sẽ sản sinh mọi cuộc canh tân, chữa lành, cải tổ sâu xa và hiệu quả mà tất cả chúng ta đều mong mỏi cho xã hội hôm nay. Thế giới chúng ta đang hấp hối, và cách duy nhất may ra có thể chữa lành nó là phải với tới trời cao. Điều hữu ích nhất Giáo Hội có thể làm hôm nay là khơi lên nơi con người nỗi khát khao cầu nguyện và dạy cho con người cầu nguyện.

Giúp người ta có được cảm thức cầu nguyện, kiên trì trên đường cầu nguyện, một con đường lắm chông gai, là quà tặng lớn nhất chúng ta có thể trao cho họ. Người cầu nguyện là người có được mọi sự, bởi chính trên nền tảng đó, Thiên Chúa có thể tự do bước vào đời sống họ, hoạt động trong họ và làm những dấu lạ điềm thiêng từ ân sủng của Người. Càng ngày, tôi càng xác tín, mọi sự đều phát sinh từ cầu nguyện, và trong số những lời mời gọi của Thánh Thần, thì đây là lời mời gọi đầu tiên và khẩn thiết nhất mỗi người phải đáp trả. Được đổi mới trong cầu nguyện là được đổi mới trong mọi khía cạnh của đời sống, là tìm lại một tuổi xuân mới. Hơn bao giờ hết, Thiên Chúa Cha đang tìm kiếm những kẻ sẽ thờ phượng Người trong Thần Khí và sự thật (x. Ga 4, 24).

Trong lĩnh vực này, rõ ràng, tất cả chúng ta không nghe cùng một tiếng gọi hay có cùng một khả năng. Nhưng chúng ta phải làm những gì mình có thể, vì Thiên Chúa sẽ trung thành với chúng ta. Tôi biết nhiều giáo dân, dù bận bịu với gia đình và công việc, vẫn cầu nguyện hai mươi phút mỗi ngày và lãnh nhận cũng ngần ấy ân huệ như các thầy dòng cầu nguyện mỗi ngày năm giờ. Thiên Chúa vô cùng ước ao tỏ mình ra cho tất cả chúng ta thấy gương mặt người Cha của Người, hầu Người có thể trở nên ánh sáng, linh dược và hạnh phúc của chúng ta, dẫu chúng ta nghèo hèn và bé mọn đến đâu. Và điều này đặc biệt đúng, bởi chưng, thế giới chúng ta đang sống là một thế giới đầy khó khăn.

Quả là hữu ích để nói về cầu nguyện, bởi nó bao gồm mọi khía cạnh của đời sống thiêng liêng cũng như đời sống con người.

Vậy với tập sách này, tôi xin đưa ra một số đề nghị rất đơn giản, trong tầm với của mọi người, để cổ võ những ai muốn đáp lại lời mời gọi cầu nguyện, hướng dẫn họ tiến bước trên đường cầu nguyện, hầu đạt được cứu cánh của cầu nguyện, đó là sự gặp gỡ nội tâm sâu xa với Thiên Chúa. Từ đó, có thể tìm thấy cách hữu hiệu, trong việc trung thành cầu nguyện, sức mạnh và bình an mà họ cần có để đời sống những ai khát khao cầu nguyện sẽ... như Thiên Chúa mong muốn.

Genres: Catholic, Spirituality, Religion, Prayer, Christian, Faith, Nonfiction

Paperback

First published January 1, 2013

About the author

Jacques Philippe was born into a Christian family on March 12, 1947 in Lorraine, France. After studying mathematics in college, he spent several years teaching and doing scientific research. In 1976, he met the then recently-founded Community of the Beatitudes and answered the Lord’s call to follow Him through this vocation (see below for more information on the Community of the Beatitudes). He then spent several years in Jerusalem and Nazareth immersing himself in the study of Hebrew and the Jewish roots of Christianity. In 1981, he traveled to Rome to study theology and canon law and also began his work as a spiritual director, working in the formation of priests and seminarians of the Community. In 1994, he returned to France, where he assumed various responsibilities including spiritual direction, the development of training in the Community, and participation in its General Council. He has also preached retreats regularly in France and abroad and has consolidated his principal retreat themes into five books on spirituality. In recent years, he has devoted himself primarily to spiritual direction, preaching retreats, and working for the development of the Community in Asia and Oceania, where he travels frequently.

Reviews

[booklady · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another beautiful book by Fr. Philippe. Will keep this one close at hand along with his other gems.

[Stuart · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you look at the religious section of any bookstore, you will find hundreds of books on prayer. Some are very short, and some rival Moby Dick in terms of length. With all these books on prayer, why would we need anymore? Fr. Jacques Philippe asks this very question at the beginning of his latest book Thirsting for Prayer. His answer was that he "recently felt impelled to write this present book, in the hope that it could help certain people to persevere along the path of personal prayer or to start out on it." I'm not sure about you, but I certainly am the intended audience for this book. The book is divided into five parts:

What is at Stake in Prayer?
Conditions for Prayer to be Fruitful
The Presence of God
Practical Advice for Personal Prayer
Prayer of Intercession

Though all of the parts were interesting in their own regard, the one that I enjoyed the most was "Practical Advice for Personal Prayer." It starts out by explaining that "we cannot unite ourselves to God in times of prayer if we are not seeking to be united to him in all our other activities." Fr. Philippe next instructs to pray at a particular time of the day to establish a rhythm. Other helpful advice is given including properly starting and ending of prayer, the body of prayer, meditating on Scripture, the Rosary, and the Jesus Prayer. This was a very useful section, but I just wish more information had been given on both the Jesus Prayer and the Rosary as these can both be useful "tools" in our prayer life, when prayed correctly.

Overall, this was a very good book on prayer. If you have never read Fr. Philippe's books before, this is a good one to start with. Why? It is brief, but powerful.. There are not a lot of chapters, and to make reading even easier, the chapters are sub-divided into smaller manageable bites of information. I wouldn't say that this is the only book that you ever need to read on prayer, but I would definitely say it deserves to be on your shelf of books on prayer and would definitely recommend it. Be sure to check out other books by Fr. Philippe (also available from Scepter Publishers), like Interior Freedom or The Way of Trust and Love.

[Anne · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fr Phillippe offers great spiritual reading b/c it is easy to get into but there is a lot to chew on. This one is no different. It wasn't my favorite of all of his books, but I got a lot out of it and am glad I own it.

[Chelsea Zimmerman · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fr. Jacques Philippe never disappoints. This is a great companion to his book Time for God, which I always recommend to anyone looking for an excellent primer on prayer.

[Donna · Rating 5 out of 5]

Covers all kinds of prayer. This book is excellent for directing personal prayer life and increasing spiritual growth.

[Celia · Rating 5 out of 5]

A beautiful, practical approach to prayer.

Rest of review in process.

5 stars

[Katy Berryman · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is my new favorite spiritual read. Fr. Jacques is unparalleled in his pastoral ability to make such lofty things understandable to us little souls, and to inflame a holy fire for the subject he writes on. I recommend it to every Catholic Christian out there. The book is not expensive—do not pass it up!

[Fr. Brisson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Nice simple (and short) book on prayer that covers the essentials. Accessible to someone at any level of spiritual progress. I picked up several insights that were either new to me or refreshed earlier convictions. For example, the analogy of the sense of touch and faith. Touch is the only of the five senses that is automatically reciprocal; if I touch you, you touch me. If I touch God by faith, he touches me. Another example is the priest’s role in interceding for the people of God to “hold back divine wrath” (as Abraham tried to do and Moses did successfully). Well worth the read. And as always his prose is gentle, clear, and encouraging.

[Hanna · Rating 5 out of 5]

anything from Fr. Jacques Philippe gets an automatic 5/5 stars from me, and this is no different. as with all his work, it's short and sweet, but rich with pearls of wisdom you could spend a lifetime contemplating.

this book is for people who think they suck at prayer because they have really rigid (incorrect) ideas of what prayer is "supposed" to be. i'm finding more and more (thanks to insight from this book and Fr. Philippe's other work) that what is of most importance isn't whatever concrete actions i'm taking or thoughts i'm having during prayer, but rather maintaining a loving, peaceful disposition in the presence of God - that sometimes, earnestly striving to be close to and love God is sufficient for fruitful prayer.

Fr. Philippe quotes St. Therese of Lisieux, who apparently had trouble staying awake during prayer, on this subject. i still think about this quote often:

I really am far from being a saint, this alone is enough to prove it; instead of rejoicing at my dryness, I should attribute it to the smallness of my fervor and fidelity, and I ought to be miserable about going to sleep, as I have done for the past seven years, during my prayers and my thanksgiving. Well, I'm not miserable about it... I think how small children please their parents just as much when they are asleep as when they are awake.

thank you, Fr. Jacques, for reminding me that nothing pleases God as much as our trust in and love for Him.

[Mike Richard · Rating 5 out of 5]

Possibly the greatest spiritual book I have read yet. Jacques Philippe is a spiritual master and my prayer life has completely changed for the better due to this work. I wish everyone I knew would read this terrific book. Thanks to Fr. Luke for giving me 'Thirsting for Prayer" while on silent retreat.

[Ann Warren · Rating 5 out of 5]

I just love Jacques Philippe and his simple yet profound spiritual direction. This short volume had so many great little points on the practicalities of prayer, but also the beautiful nature of our relationship with God. 💙

[Elizabeth Warner · Rating 3 out of 5]

A bit rudimentary, but a good place to start for those just beginning their spiritual journeys. Although I probably would reread it, I see how it could be a helpful resource for others.

3/5 stars.

[Steven R. McEvoy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Reading this volume marks the 19th time I have read a work by Father Philippe. Though several of those 19 were rereads. Everything I have ready by him has been excellent. I mainly read this volume while on a 4 day silent retreat and much of the material lined up with the meditations and talks that were given during the retreat. This is an excellent volume.

The description of this book states:

“"What the world most needs today is prayer. It is prayer that will give birth to all the renewals, healings, deep and fruitful transformations we all want for society today.... I am more and more convinced that everything comes from prayer and that, among the calls of the Spirit, this is the first and most urgent one we should respond to."

Many have already benefited from Fr. Jacques’ best-selling book on prayer, Time for God. In Thirsting for Prayer, Fr. Jacques revisits some of the themes covered in that book and develops new insights that are both profound and practical. This book of reflections will guide us with simplicity on the path to intimacy with God, helping us to develop an actual taste for personal prayer. This "school of prayer" opens us up to the encounter with God that transforms us from within.”

About the author we are informed:

“Fr. Jacques Philippe is a member of the community of the Beatitudes, founded in France in 1983. After studying in Nazareth, Jerusalem, and Rome, he was ordained a priest in 1985. He primarily devotes himself to spiritual direction and preaching retreats internationally. His published books on spirituality are the consolidated result of such work. He is the author of Fire & Light, Interior Freedom, Time for God, and The Eight Doors of the Kingdom, among others. You can find out more about Fr. Jacques and his preaching schedule at his site.”

The chapters in the book are:

Introduction
I What Is at Stake in Prayer
1. Prayer as a response to a call
2. God comes first in our lives
3. Loving freely, not for what we get out of it
4. A foretaste of the Kingdom
5. Knowing God and knowing ourselves
6. Compassion for our neighbor is born of prayer
7. Prayer, a path of freedom
8. Prayer unifies our lives

II Conditions for Prayer to be Fruitful
1. Prayer as a place to find inner peace
2. The dispositions that make prayer fruitful
3. Prayer vivified by faith, hope, and love
4. The gateway of faith
5. The role of emotions in our prayer life
6. The role and limits of the mind
7. Touching God
8. The faith that opens all doors
9. Prayer and hope
10. The power of humility
11. Going down into ourselves
12. Prayer as an act of love
13. Conclusion on the “theological virtues” in prayer

PART III The Presence of God
1. God’s presence in nature
2. God gives himself in the humanity of Christ
3. God’s presence in our hearts
4. Praying the Word
5. Word and discernment
6. The Word as a weapon for the fight

PART IV Practical Advice for Personal Prayer
1. Outside the time of prayer
2. Establishing a rhythm
3. Beginning and ending prayer
4. The time of prayer itself
5. When the question “What should I do?” does not arise
6. When we need to be active in our prayer
7. Meditating on Scripture
8. Toward continual prayer
9. Repetitive prayers
10. The Jesus Prayer
11. The Rosary

PART V Prayer of Intercession
1. God refuses nothing to people who refuse him nothing
2. Intercession, a place for struggle and growth
3. When God does not seem to hear us

I highlighted a number of passages while reading this volume, some of them are:

“There are plenty of excellent books about prayer. Is there honestly any need for another one? Not really. I have already written a book on this subject some years ago, and I was not planning to write another. However, in spite of the risk of repeating myself on certain points, I recently felt impelled to write this present book, in the hope that it could help certain people to persevere along the path of personal prayer or to start out on it.”

“To be renewed in prayer is to be renewed in all the aspects of our lives, to find a new youthfulness. More than ever, God the Father is seeking those who will worship him in Spirit and in truth (cf. Jn 4:24).”

“I shall be talking essentially about personal prayer. Communal prayer, especially participation in the Church’s liturgy, is a basic dimension of Christian life, and it is not my intention to undervalue it. However, I shall speak mainly about personal prayer, because that is where people generally encounter most difficulties.”

“All men and all women are in search of their identity, their personality at the deepest level. “Who am I?” Sometimes we ask ourselves that question in anguish halfway through our lives.”

“Prayer and the meeting with God make us discover God’s unique love for us.”

“There is a much greater difference between people’s souls than between their faces, says St. Teresa of Avila. This unique personality is symbolized by the “new name” that Scripture speaks of.”

“Because of what we have just said, and for many other reasons besides, the discovery of God as Father, which is the essential fruit of fidelity to prayer, is the most precious thing in the world, the greatest of all the gifts of the Spirit.”

“One of the most beautiful fruits of prayer (and a way of discerning whether prayer is genuine) is that it makes our love for our neighbor grow.”

“Experience teaches us this. Faithfulness to prayer, even if it passes through difficult stages, times of dryness and trial, leads us progressively to find in God the deep peace, security, and happiness, that make us free in relation to other people. If we find our happiness and our peace in God, we will be able to give much to our neighbors, while also accepting all as they are, without holding it against them when they fall short of our expectations. God is enough.”

“Without faithfulness to our appointments with prayer, by contrast, there is a serious risk that our lives may never acquire any coherent meaning.”

“My prayer isn’t wonderful, I’m far from being one of the great mystics, I often have distractions and times of dryness; most of the time I don’t feel very much, and I certainly don’t claim to have reached the pinnacle of the spiritual life. Despite that, I recognize that for me, the fact of keeping these regular appointments with our Lord is producing an effect of inner pacification. This peace is not something I always feel with the same intensity, but it is often the result of my times of prayer.”

“A first point (which follows from what I am going to say later, but it is good to emphasize it) is that fidelity should be a principle quality of prayer. Jesus does not ask us to pray well; he asks us to pray without ceasing!”

“Faith is expressed, renewed, purified, and strengthened when exercised in prayer.”

“Ultimately, these considerations have one practical consequence, and it is an extremely consoling one. There are moments in our prayer lives when we are, quite simply, poor. Despite our good will and efforts, we remain arid, cold, devoid of feeling, understanding, and lights…”

“Prayer is an act of hope: it means recognizing that we need God, can’t manage by ourselves when faced with all life’s challenges, rely on God more than on our own resources and talents, and trust him to give us what we need. In prayer our hope is expressed and, in consequence, deepened and strengthened. This line of thought necessarily leads us to humility and spiritual poverty, which cannot be separated from the virtue of hope.”

“Our prayer lives lead us necessarily to experience our own poverty. Sometimes this is very painful, but we should not be afraid of this experience because ultimately it is extremely beneficial.”

“Let’s start from our own lives. That half hour or hour spent in personal, silent prayer, perhaps in a corner of our room or in a church, is sometimes a time of great beauty and sweetness. We taste a happiness, joy, and peace more precious than anything this world can offer.”

“Prayer brings us inexorably face-to-face with what we really are. Every single person has his or her dark side, that part of themselves that sometimes weighs heavily and is a source of shame, guilt, and anguish: human limitations, psychological weaknesses, emotional wounds, areas of complicity with evil, incapacities, falls of different kinds, etc. Prayer makes us enter more and more deeply into God’s light, and like a ray of sunlight coming into a dark room and revealing the tiniest speck of dust floating in the air, that lays bare our imperfections and sins.”

“That is how it is for us. Faithfulness to prayer involves a painful confrontation with what we have in our hearts. There we find things that weigh us down, tangled things, dirty things. But the day comes when, deeper down than our psychological wounds, even deeper than our sins and dirt, we reach a pure spring, the presence of God in the depths of our hearts, enabling our whole selves to be purified and renewed.”

“Prayer is a privileged place for love to be exercised, and hence deepened and purified. It is a marvelously effective school of love. It is a school of patience, faithfulness, humility, and trust, and these attitudes are the most genuine expressions of true love. Prayer is a school of love of God, love of our neighbor and also (not least importantly) charity toward our own selves.”

“It is essential to hold ourselves in God’s presence, poor and little as we are, but open and receptive to his Love.”

“Certainly, at the beginning of our prayer, we should give a light to our love: a mystery of faith, a promise of Jesus Christ, examples and virtues of the Son, the Beloved of the Father; but once our soul feels attentive to God, we can devote ourselves to loving him in accordance with what we see in him—and love will reveal new splendors to us.”

“It is a truth of faith that God lives in us, with a hidden but real presence.”

“The Council uses strong words here: the Word of God is the strength of our faith, the food of our souls, the pure and everlasting source of our spiritual life.”

“It is good for us to expose ourselves to the Word of God regularly. It alone can bring about a deep work of discernment and truthfulness in our lives.”

“It is not we who work on the Bible but the Bible that works on us. We need, day after day, to let ourselves be worked upon and shaped by it, by this or that specific passage. That means taking a risk, because the Word can sometimes tell us things we do not want to hear. But ultimately it works for life, freedom, and peace. Whether it corrects us or consoles us, it brings us life.”

“Jesus is not a link in the transmission of the Word; he is the Word itself, in its very source and origin.”

“Do not allow a single day to go by, then, without taking at least a few minutes to meditate on a passage of Scripture. It may sometimes appear to be dry or obscure, but if we read it faithfully, in simplicity and prayer, it will sink deep into our memory without our even realizing it. And on the day when we need it, in a time of adversity, that verse or some other will return to our minds and will be precisely what we need to recover our hope and peace.”

“The quality of personal prayer is obviously conditioned by how we live our lives outside our times of prayer.”

“Human life is made up of rhythms: the rhythm of breathing, the rhythm of days and nights, weeks and years… . If we want to be faithful to prayer, it must find its place in our life’s rhythms. Praying at a particular time of day, reserving a set point in the week for God, etc., should become habitual.”

“Our prayer is called to become not just one activity among others but the fundamental activity of our lives, the very rhythm of our deepest existence, the breathing of our heart, so to speak.”

“G. K. Chesterton argued that repetition is a characteristic of the vitality of children, who like the same stories, with the same words, time and time again, not because they are bored and unimaginative but because they delight in life. Chesterton wrote: “Because children have abounding vitality, because they are in spirit fierce and free, therefore they want things repeated and unchanged. They always say, ‘Do it again!’; and the grown-up person does it again until he is nearly dead, for grown-up people are not strong enough to exult in monotony. But perhaps God is strong enough to exult in monotony.”

“Not a single one of our prayers is ever lost. Sooner or later, each will be answered; perhaps not at the time or in the way we imagine, but when and as God wants, in his plans that surpass our understanding. Our prayers are not always answered as we would want, but the fact of expressing them always brings us closer to God, leads us forward on our inner journey, and attracts a certain grace that we shall one day see clearly and that will then fill us with wonder.”

“There is nothing like thanksgiving and gratitude to purify our hearts and make us experience this beatitude: Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God (Mt 5:8). Blessed be his Name forever! Amen.”

I hope those quotes give you a feel for this volume. The first note where father Philippe states that another book on prayer was not necessarily needed but he felt compelled to write this one. I am very thankful that he did. It fit perfectly with my retreat and brought several of the points home and reinforced what I was learning.

Everything I have read by Father Philippe has been excellent. I have been recommending his books to others since I first encountered them nearly 20 years ago. In fact I occasionally check for new titles in English that I have seen French editions of but have not yet read. Hope they will appear in English. This is a book that will be of immense spiritual value to any catholic who reads it. It is a resource that would be great in anyone’s prayer corner or bedside table.

I can easily recommend this volume; it is an excellent read, I challenge you to pick it up and give it a read, your prayer life will never be the same!

This book is part of a series of reviews: 2025 Catholic Reading Plan!

[Yenny · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sooo recommended both for beginners in prayer or cradle Catholics. This book frees me from certain kind of thinking, false mindset, and all sort of things I do not know about prayer life and relationship with God Himself, which is the purpose of prayer. Father Jacques is really a blessing. His writing encourages me and corrects me just like a spiritual director would.

[Aaron · Rating 5 out of 5]

I thoroughly enjoy reading Fr Philippe’s books. He gets right the point in an easy to understand way. Some quotes I find profound from this book;

The first thing that should motivate us and encourage us to enter into a life of prayer is that God himself is inviting us to do it. Man searches for God, but God seeks out man even more actively.

Human life only finds its full balance and beauty when God is at its center.

To pray is to spend time freely with God just for the joy of being together.

Prayer brings us inexorably face to face with what we really are.

The quality of prayer is obviously conditioned by how we live our lives outside our times of prayer.

Everything without exception that makes up our lives can nourish our dialogue with God.

What is most important about intercessory prayer is not always it’s material object, but rather the connection with God established and developed by means of it. That connection will always bear fruit, both for ourselves and for the people for whom we pray.

Great book!

[Sarah · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you've read A Time for God for Fr. Philippe, I don't see why you should read this too. It gets deeper into mental prayer. I found this dry and did not add much more than A Time for God (which I found very inspiring and helped me a lot with my prayer life). I wouldn't say do not get this book though. It was still good. It talks more about the darker parts of prayer, as in spiritual dryness. These books do help a lot in our prayer life and they teach us how improving our spiritual life would also improve our everyday life in general.

[Elaine · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wonderful. I hope to carry with me some of these great truths of prayer and apply them to my own prayer life.
“The activity that really counts in prayer is not ours but God’s. We are asked to accept, that is all!”
“Adore Him within yourself and never try to find Him outside”

[Fr. David · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fantastic introduction to prayer; good for beginners and for seasoned pray-ers alike!

[Rebecca · Rating 5 out of 5]

A beautiful book on meditation in prayer. 5 stars

[Donna Wessel Walker · Rating 5 out of 5]

Best book on prayer I've read in a long time.

[Cherry · Rating 5 out of 5]

A wonderful guide for prayer. Perfect #spiritual reading/reflection every day and during an annual retreat.

[Rick Dugan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Father Jacques Philippe casts a compelling vision for a life of prayer, a silencing of the mind to hear the voice of God in our hearts, a discipline that turns Scripture into conversation and worship. He connects prayer to our intimacy with God, our growth as disciples of Jesus, the healing of our wounded emotions, and our ministry to the world. Most of all, prayer is the means by which we come to know God.

After explaining why we should pray, Father Philippe discusses the fruit of prayer and the way of prayer. He graciously confronts the challenges and objections to prayer.

Though the temptation is that prayer might orient us inward on ourselves, true prayer trains us to overcome ourselves and love others. It facilitates an inner work that bears external fruit. "Prayer makes us gentler and more peaceful, humble and merciful, and the people whom God puts on our path undoubtedly benefit from it." (Loc 815)

There are so many good quotes to choose from, but I'll leave this one as a description of prayer as a sense that needs to be exercised and developed: "When God is present, he is also hidden. Whether it is in nature, in the Eucharist, in the center of our souls, God is really present, but by a presence not accessible to human modes of perception." (Loc 907)

[Mary Ellen · Rating 5 out of 5]

In his deceptively simple style, Fr. Philippe provides inspiration and practical guidelines for anyone desiring to deepen their prayer life. He quotes liberally from other spiritual writers (one favorite of his, and mine, is St. Therese of Lisieux) but clearly writes from years devoted to the practice of prayer.

This is a book I will return to again and again. It took me a while to read because I needed to stop and reflect multiple times within each chapter and section. Sitting with a thought or instruction from this book led me into a sitting in the Lord's presence every time.

[Chris · Rating 5 out of 5]

Focusing on our bond with God is the most important thing we can do. Prayer is a principle way of doing that: speaking with him as if with a friend (THE Friend).

This short volume covers the various kinds of prayer, why to pray in the first place, and other spiritual considerations. I highly recommend this quick read for anyone looking to deepen their bond with God (and therefore with others). It will help quench your thirst for prayer!

[Marvin Boswell · Rating 3 out of 5]

Relatively short book.  Mostly traditional, nothing stands out as particularly new or special but to me there was a spirit of simplicity and peace that reading this book impressed on me.  
The author is from a Catholic background.  As someone from a Protestant background, the multiple inclusions of Mary into aspects of prayer are not normal for me.  I did enjoy the inclusion of writings from older authors and saints into the book.
Overall, good book.

[Jessica Azzopardi · Rating 5 out of 5]

Such a great guide for anyone starting off their prayer life or wishing to rekindle it! I found this book helpful by simply reminding me of other ways I can pray than what I’m usually used to. Jacques Philippe highlights how much prayer is a gift from God, bringing us closer to Him each day. How could we refuse such a gift? Highly recommend this book :)

[Barbara · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thirsting for prayer

An amazing book. This book came at a time that was needed. I want my prayer life to have more meaning and strength. Reading this book allowed me to look at prayer from many different ways and to add different activities to my prayer time. What a wonderful resource and guide to any library for personal growth.

[Rachel Stadler · Rating 5 out of 5]

Told myself I’d read this more slowly, but here we are. This was such an ideal book for where I’m at spiritually. Really helpful, practical advice for cultivating a life of prayer. For just starting somewhere and building a relationship with Him. Also, really made me want to read some St. John of the Cross.

[Gab Nug · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this as part of researching for a conference I was asked to give on the topic of prayer. The conference never happened, due to Covid, but it definitely provided me with the language appropriate to discussing the reality and practice of prayer.

[Brian Bergmann · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the absolute best books on prayer.

Whether you are beginning to establish a prayer life, you are devoted to prayer but missing a piece, or just wanting to learn more this book can help. It is an easy read, though I recommend you read it in small bite-size pieces.