In the preface of Flee, Be Silent, Pray, Ed Cyzewski lays out how he found himself returning to aspects of the Catholic faith he'd initially tried to distance himself from after recognizing one notable weakness of evangelicalism was how it can lead one to feel full of guilt and anxiety about not doing or being enough: "Long story short: although I was now a committed Protestant, I had to return to my Catholic roots to learn how to pray."

Although our childhood experiences were different, I found myself resonating with how our journeys overlapped. Authors he quotes have been ones I've been drawn to as of late, such as Phyllis Tickle, Henri Nouwen, Thomas Merton, and Richard Rohr, and the title comes from a Nouwen quotation, which Cyzewski elaborates on:

"Flee, be silent, pray: all work together as one intentional movement toward God. The pursuit of God in silent, contemplative prayer is the exact opposite of anxious striving, studying, and cultural crusading. Contemplative prayer is the only cure I know for our holy anxiety and perceived alienation from God, because it places all our faith in the love and mercy of God."

Flee, Be Silent, Pray addresses various practices, such as lectio divina, the Examen, and centering prayer, and each chapter concludes with "Practicing the Practice" to offer immediate, practical application.

A younger version of myself, who used to find liturgies and written prayers rote and lacking in emotion may have been surprised to see how I am now drawn to following structured prayers. When I use The Divine Hours, I am regularly impacted by the experience of the closing prayer in the Compline, finding new emotions as I reflect on these words, with different sections standing out to me depending on who or what is heavy on my heart, and I was not surprised to read Cyzewski has had similar experiences:

"Keep watch, dear Lord, with those who work, or watch, or weep this night, and give your angels charge over those who sleep. Tend the sick, Lord Christ; give rest to the weary, bless the dying, soothe the suffering, pity the afflicted, shield the joyous, and all for your love's sake. Amen."

Perhaps the book could have been more succinct, but that's coming from someone who doesn't need to be convinced of the value and practice of contemplative prayer; others interested in contemplative prayers will find this a useful primer.

(I received a digital ARC from Herald Press via NetGalley in exchange for my honest opinion.)

An exhortation for evangelicals/conservative Christians to discover the ancient spiritual practices of contemplative prayer delivered by means of the author's personal story.

The author explains how he began life as a Catholic, strongly converted to evangelical Christianity, and re-discovered some Catholic meditative and devotional practices during a time of great spiritual distress. Most of the book features discussions of various spiritual practices surrounding contemplative prayer: the divine hours (fixed hour prayer), effective use of the examen, mindfulness centering on God in Christ, daily periods of solitude and the ability to appreciate what silence teaches, and the experience of the dark night of the soul.

Beyond such discussions the book is framed as a critique of evangelicalism as currently practiced, highly anxious, works-based and driven, relentlessly pressing forward, too easily reflecting the capitalistic and consumeristic models of the moment. The author speaks of these things in terms of his own personal experience, and goes to some length to assure the reader that he is not automatically condemning all that is in evangelicalism or its impulses, but seeks to be an encouragement for others who may, like him, have found themselves disenchanted and in great spiritual distress and who would benefit from these prayer traditions.

In general the book is a valuable resource; unlike a lot of other authors who write on the theme, Cyzewski is willing to provide some pointers for practice and to explain not only what he did in generalities but providing actual practices, references, and resources. I have read similar works and have wanted to explore the practices but felt disappointed by a lack of concrete direction. I would not consider myself an Evangelical but my heritage shares many affinities with evangelicalism, and to some degree I can relate to the author's frustrations if not his exact experiences. Throughout my nearly 20 years in Christ I have felt more than catechized in doctrine but have felt at a loss in terms of developing an effectively coherent prayer life...it is good to see someone else's journey that provides some beneficial pointers, and I am already benefited by having been pointed to the Examen along with the divine hours (which I have been doing, although not as consistently as desired, for almost a decade).

I perceived a bit of unease from the author at various points about his practices and conclusions, as if he still did not feel entirely settled and maintained doctrinal combatants in mind, and felt he would have done better at times to have maintained the confidence and boldness in his current stand. It shall be seen as to how well many Evangelicals will take to his criticisms of the movement in general even if they are not wide of the mark.

I would also caution against the seemingly uncritical acceptance of the model of those who came before, especially among the "desert fathers." The "desert fathers" arose from their own context, a reactive movement, which may provide some positive fodder for spirituality but also maintained a legacy that was a bit too extreme for its own good. Yes, indeed, Jesus retreated into the wilderness to pray...but He always returned to minister among the people.

Having said that, the likelihood of many running to such an extreme is far lower than the presently critical need for many in Christendom to flee for a moment, be silent, and pray. A highly recommended work.

2019 addition: the work has gone through an expansion and a more "official" publication. It would be hard to parse out what has been added from what was already there, but the work coheres better, provides greater grounding and resources, and is all the more beneficial and worthwhile for consideration.

Contemplative prayer is something that is rarely on the radar for many Christians, especially for evangelicals. All too often they become what the author calls "anxious Christians," always worried they are not doing enough, evangelizing enough, or even praying enough. By rediscovery of the traditions of contemplation we can break this cycle and begin to lose our anxiety.

While Catholics are often familiar with some aspects of contemplation, almost all evangelicals and Protestants are not. Cyzewski has discovered in his own life that rediscovering these practices has helped his faith.

This book is an outstanding easy-to-understand starting point for contemplation. It's full of great resources and inspiring quotes. It's especially good for evangelicals because it frees the discussion from the baggage of history so that Christians who might be uncomfortable with an idea that seems so tinged with Catholicism can see this as a practice they can and should adopt.

It's also useful for Protestants and Catholics who have some familiarity with contemplation. The author is speaking to busy laypeople, not religious professionals. He knows froths own experience, which uses in the book, that this is not easy.

I found plenty ideas in this book to adopt in my own life.

I am not the target audience for this book, as I am not an evangelical Christian. Because of this the beginning part of the book which was convincing evangelicals as to the benefits of contemplative prayer was not necessary for me. The rest of the book was both educational and inspirational and I've taken away several new prayers and practices.