Wonderful Exchange

Book excerpt: Alexander Ryrie has written an utterly simple, yet eminently practical introduction to the process and eperience of silent prayer, a way of praying that helps us be more in touch with our inner selves and God within. Drawing especially from the Orthodox tradition of the Christian East, and sharing his own experiences, he describes aspects of the process so that those who already engage in silent prayer may enter more fully into it, while invinting newcomers who have not approached prayer in this way. Although he divides the book into chapters, the author emphasizes that silent prayer cannot be broken down into different stages or steps that follow one another. To that end he first describes the different kinds of silence, then offers practical methods of practicing silent prayer, the importance of "entering ourselves" and encountering God, which are reciprocal and inseparable aspects of the same activity. He points out, finally the practical aspects of silent prayer for our lives. Each chapter is followed by short quotations from Orthodox writers that illustrate points made in the chapters.