In Constant Prayer by Robert Benson

I have always been intrigued by the ancient spiritual practices.  The sense of depth and history within them draws me.  To pray without ceasing or "Never stop praying" (1 Thes 5:17) has always both interested me and intimidated me.  I knew a little about the daily office but wanted to learn more so I picked up this book.

I expected a technical or theological book (or both!) that was quite dry, that took some time to absorb but, hopefully, with very good content.  The read was easier than I'd anticipated.  Robert Benson writes as though he is speaking to a small group of people or, better yet, as though you are just sitting down with him, one-on-one, having coffee.  He is very down to earth.  I appreciated that the material presented in this book was easily accessible and actually fun to read.

Benson acknowledges that praying the daily office can be intimidating at first and suggests that you start one step at a time.  He outlines a few ways to do this and has a few recommended resources to get you started.  I found this helpful as, without these suggestions, I would probably have steered myself to the type of book that would have left me overwhelmed and discouraged with the practice.

Another point that Benson makes, one that truly stood out to me and that I have been trying to apply to my life in more areas than just prayer, is that we don't do it for ourselves.  We don't pray because of what we hope to get out of it just like we don't go to church for what we hope to receive.  Benson is quick to point our attention to the real reason why we are called by God to "never stop praying"...and it has nothing to do with us.

I found this book clearly written, entertaining to read, and an encouragement to my practice of prayer.  I would highly recommend this book to anyone, as all God's people are called to prayer.

I received this book from Thomas Nelson's Booksneeze blogger book review program and was under no obligation to provide a positive review.