Quiet Prayer

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.

A little over halfway into this book I realized I was at that point where this book was going to be one that would require re-reads and a print copy to highlight and take notes in (I tend to not write in books as it bugs me but sometimes...). I do love to meditate, as I deal with mental health issues and chronic pain and have always found myself praying or reciting Bible verses while I did so. I knew in my heart this was okay because in almost every Bible translation, it stated that Jesus "meditated" on the Word, or to God, or about events. This book just brought so SO much of that together for me and I love it. It is a great, easy to grasp concept laid out on this book and I highly recommend it for anyone struggling with their prayer life.

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.

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.

Quiet Prayer by Marie Chapin is a book about Christian prayer and meditation. This book helps to answer questions about meditation and prayer and helps the reader through different exercises. This was a good read and has helped me to grow stronger in my faith and relationship with Jesus.

Quiet Prayer by Marie Chapian is an informative book that starts with the history of contemplative prayer and moves to examples of practicing this in one’s life today. As a silent retreat leader, I was drawn to check out this book. I was looking for a Protestant book that led me in this practice. I found that she gave favorable insight. I’m thankful to have read this one and recommend this to others.
I received a copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.


***Also posted on CBD, B&N

To be honest, quiet prayer with the use of bells sounds so new age to me.

However, this book has spurred me to find out more about contemplative prayer.

Thank you Netgalley and Emanate books for the chance to view this title. This is my honest review and sorry it is so late!