I learned as a child to be the perfect student. I have learned as an adult, however, the truth of which Walker Percy spoke. You can make straight A’s and then go out and flunk life. There is a fundamental difference between ideas and their practice, between abstract knowledge and experience. Daniel Wolpert writes with the wisdom of someone who has lived what he teaches. His book on prayer, Creating a Life with God: The Call of Ancient Prayer Practices, is less an explanation and more an invitation. He doesn’t want the reader to get all A’s. He wants the reader to live.
On the surface, Creating a Life with God reads like a primer and manual for a host of prayer practices that have deep roots in the Christian faith. The book progresses thematically from prayer within to prayer without; that is, from prayer that primarily employs heart and mind to prayer that employs the body, connects us with creation, and fosters community with others. This progression is purposeful and hints at a central thesis. Prayer is not just an activity but an orientation, not just a thing we do but a way of being in the world. Seeking God’s will is not limited to a mental exercise. It naturally spills over into all of our life. It progressively changes the way we bear ourselves and relate to the world around us. As Wolpert summarizes, prayer is “a deep conversation with God beginning with communion and leading to transformation”(25). Creating a Life with God is therefore not just a primer or a manual. It is also good news. Its aim is not just that readers will understand and practice these different forms of prayer, but that readers will awaken and respond to God’s presence in all corners of their life.
Wolpert grounds each prayer practice in a historical figure or tradition, not to define and police the practice according to its original bounds, but to remind readers that these practices, despite their seemingly newfound popularity, are ancient and time-tested. For readers who have grown up in the narrow confines of a single tradition, learning about the historical roots of these practices may ease any fears of what seems strange or unfamiliar. A happy side-effect may be the broadening of one’s spiritual horizons. Indeed, Wolpert indicates that prayer is an experience that invariably opens us up. Throughout the book, prayer is likened to eyes opening, hearts opening, minds opening, doors opening, ripened fruit opening and spilling seed—the world opening and being transformed into the kingdom of God.
The specific prayer practices and historical figures that Wolpert reviews are as follows: solitude and silence as practiced by the desert fathers and mothers; lectio divina as practiced by Benedict; the Jesus Prayer as practiced by the pilgrim in The Way of the Pilgrim; apophatic prayer as practiced by John of the Cross and the author of The Cloud of Unknowing; the examen as practiced by Ignatius of Loyola; creativity as practiced by Hildegard of Bingen; journaling as practiced by Julian of Norwich; body prayer as practiced by characters in the Song of Solomon and as reflected in the story of Abelard and Heloise; walking as practiced in ancient pilgrimages and in the labyrinth; praying in nature as practiced by Francis of Assisi; praying materially as practiced by the Beguines; and praying as a community as reflected in the Rule of Saint Benedict. The final two chapters, which are new additions in this twentieth anniversary edition of the book, pertain less to prayer practices and more to particular orientations of prayer. The first orientation is one of fearless imagination as practiced by Brigit of Ireland. The second is one of freedom as practiced by Howard Thurman.
Wolpert’s exploration of each prayer practice is unapologetically practical rather than scholarly. He desires to provide not a comprehensive “history” of the practice but a “story” that conveys the “spiritual essence” of the practice and its practitioners (30-31). I found his approach to be well suited to its purpose, namely to inspire and invite readers to seek God. Wolpert shares a host of stories, drawn not only from history but also from his extensive experience as a spiritual leader. Through story, he relays relatable experiences, illustrating how a particular prayer practice looks in the flesh and cautioning against common misunderstandings and pitfalls. Wolpert rounds out his practical approach by including an appendix with simple, step-by-step guidelines for each prayer practice, for both individual and group use.
One strength of Wolpert’s work is the range of practices that he surveys. I imagine that different readers will gravitate toward different chapters according to their present need or desire. Personally, I found myself drawn to his chapter on praying as a community—“or rather, community as prayer” (162)—in which he speaks a prophetic word about the juncture at which the church finds itself. He lays the groundwork for this chapter in his note on the 20th anniversary edition, which appears at the beginning of the book. There he observes with interest how contemplative practices have become more widespread at the same time that religious institutions have declined. He points out that when he first published the book, many church leaders had seized on the popularity of contemplative prayer practices. These practices became “the next shiny object that was going to save the church” (20). But they did not save the church, and Wolpert insists that this is no surprise. “[T]he human institutions that call themselves church are not the spiritual reality they purport to manifest” (21). The church does not need saving. As “the mystical body of Christ,” it is alive and well (21). But those who fly its banner might learn something from the communal practice of prayer, not as yet another program to attract new members and save the institution, but as a way of being in the world that brings us closer to God and fills us with life.
Sometimes in a church it is wisely said that we are not called to be successful but to be faithful. Yet moments later, we are worrying again about how to be successful: how to attract young people, what programs are most relevant, which style of worship will resonate with the neighborhood. In his chapter on praying as a community, Wolpert effectively outlines how the church might be faithful again. The subject is how a community might live in prayer together, but the resulting sketch is a healthy spiritual community. Wolpert takes as his guide The Rule of Saint Benedict and suggests that modeling a community on its general themes and principles would yield a “structured environment within which everything points to the mind of Christ” (164). I found this to be a compelling point in the light of our society’s dawning awareness that the means often becomes its own end. Because the institutional church has privileged structures borrowed from politics and business, structures that take for granted the values of power and logic, competition and efficiency, the result is often a collection of well-intentioned individuals who find themselves frustratingly embroiled in power struggles and budgetary concerns.
Wolpert invites readers to imagine an alternative structure for community with prayer at its center. He gleans from The Rule a number of fundamental spiritual principles, including humility, rigorous honesty, a spirit of listening, a certain willingness (or “obedience”) that yields the fruits of the Spirit, mutual service, the practice of hospitality, living simply with few possessions, and of course the intentional practice of prayers, both individually and communally. While Wolpert occasionally speculates what these principles might look like in practice, he wisely refrains from concretizing them into a distinct blueprint from a spiritual community. Rather he offers them as guidelines. Each community would need to apply them thoughtfully “in a unique manner” according to its context (164). “My working hypothesis is that if enough of these themes are consistently applied in some fashion, in some place, then a new type of spiritual community will arise” (164).
Wolpert’s musings on the character of a spiritual community helped me to make sense of my own experience. I have found that communities outside the church walls often seem more spiritually alive than the church itself. Twelve-step groups, L’Arche communities, and ministries to elderly persons and those who live without homes have all impressed me with their vibrant spirit of grace, honesty, and companionship. I am now inspired to look more closely at them alongside The Rule of Saint Benedict, as I ponder new possibilities for the way a church community might share life together.
“The days of church as a center of social and community life are gone,” writes Wolpert, “and so congregations are groping about in the dark trying to decide if they are community centers, old-age homes, spiritual Wal-Marts, or filling stations for the soul. This searching is made all the more difficult by the individualism permeating every aspect of our lives. For people to commit to a life of prayer with a particular community is a huge challenge, maybe impossible” (163). I am inspired to paraphrase Wolpert’s insight in this way. The days of successful churches are gone, and yet congregations keep looking for a way to achieve this end. To live in a community centered on prayer seems foolish and weak. Such a community could not possibly be “successful.” But perhaps that is not the point.
In Creating a Life with God, Wolpert offers readers not only a valuable resource but perhaps even more importantly a call back to “the heart of the matter” (25). I would earnestly recommend it to anyone seeking more life.
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Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the author and/or publisher through the Speakeasy blogging book review network. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255.
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