Quiet Prayer: The Hidden Purpose and Power of Christian Meditation

by Marie Chapian

The world around us teems with chaos and noise. We can change this turmoil by first changing the turmoil within us. That’s what Quiet Prayer is all about. In Quiet Prayer , bestselling author Marie Chapian introduces readers to the ancient Christian tradition of solitude and meditation—a way of being in the presence of God based on silence and stillness. She answers questions Christians may have, such as: Through learning about the history of Christian meditation and practicing with Marie’s step-by-step guided meditations in the book, you can lean deeper into the Lord’s call to “Be still, and know that I am God” (Psalm 46:10).

Genres: Nonfiction

240 pages, Hardcover

Published November 5, 2019

About the author

A Christian counselor and author or coauthor of more than thirty books, including the bestseller Free to Be Thin. She founded Marie Chapian Ministries to teach and equip the body of Christ. She lives in Southern California.

Reviews

[Kimberly · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was given to me by the church that I volunteer with. It came at a perfect time in my life as I needed a reminder to pray right then. This book tells some of the history of contemplative prayer and then moves to exercises to help make it a part of someone's life daily.
I am so glad that I had the opportunity to read this book.
I recommend this to anyone.

[Ian · Rating 4 out of 5]

Being a a student of prayer practices I was attracted to the title of this book. I'm familiar with the term "Contemplative Prayer" and my sense Chapian simply substitutes 'Quiet' for 'Contemplative', however, this is a useful book for anyone seeking to drawer closer to God.

Chapian begins the book by outlining the history of Quiet Prayer in particular, the Desert Monks and other monks who were tremendous proponents of the practice. She then provides valuable exercises to implement the practice. Much of the second half of the book is discussing the various issues and potential pitfalls of the practice together with outlining some of the accidental benefits derived from regular practice.

I thoroughly enjoyed the first half of the book and found the second half to drag on a little. Yes, there was a degree of repetition but that is important when encouraging newbies on how to adopt a new practice. I wonder if the book would be more useful as a 150-175 page length with an appendix that provides the 5 different exercises outlined throughout the book as an easy reference guide for readers to easily find the exercises having finished the book.

I expect I will refer to it again, however, may seek out some of the 'contemplative prayer' books offered by others first. This is a helpful book for everyone seeking greater intimacy with God.

I received an early ebook copy of the book from the publisher via NetGalley with no expectation of a favourable review.

[Roberta · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have been a Christian for most of my life, and I’ve been practicing mindfulness and meditation for nearly two years (with the Headspace app). So when I saw Quiet Prayer was a way of combining the two - meditation and Christianity - I was interested. I loved the idea of sitting in silence with god. So I read the book, taking far longer than I would over a book this length normally, as I wanted to carry out the exercises as I went through.

I found the book easy to read. It begins with a brief introduction to the history of quiet prayer, which was interesting. It then proceeds to teach the techniques, interspersed with glimpses of sessions the author has run. I found the writing accessible, though the constant capitalisation of God, He, Him etc made it less smooth to read. This is pretty much standard in Christian writing though. I also found that some points seemed to be repeated a little too much for me, but if you’ve not done meditation before, I suspect this would be useful.

I’d recommend this to anyone interested in the technique, and also anyone looking to deepen their relationship with god. It is suitable for people from any denomination.

I was given a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

[Lory Hess · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a gentle, earnest, and reassuring guide to a meditative practice that can help to counteract the busy-ness that invades so much of our life, including our spiritual lives. Judgment and expectation are set aside as the author repeatedly urges us to take time simply to sit with God. Numerous examples both from the past (in the contemplative practice of the Desert fathers and mothers) and the present (ordinary people who have found their way to this transformative path) help to fill out the basically very simple message. Anyone who doesn't consider meditation to be a Christian practice will find ample evidence to the contrary in this book.

[Brenda Schneider · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed reading this book and trying the exercises. I will be reading this book again. I won this book through goodreads.

[Stevie Booth · Rating 5 out of 5]

There is some great practices in this book one of which my church is practicing doing the 2020 quarantine.