7 Ways to Pray: Time-Tested Practices for Encountering God

by Amy Boucher Pye, Sharon Garlough Brown (Foreword by)

Overview

A hands-on and time-tested look at ways to pray that will strengthen your relationship with God and lead to transformation.

7 Ways to Pray explores ancient prayer practices to help you encounter God and avoid an over-intellectualization of your faith. Each chapter shares real-life examples, is rooted in the Bible, and includes prayer exercises for individuals or groups. This is a sourcebook for prayer, not a simple to-do list. Amy is a storyteller that brings these proven practices to life so you can make them immediately actionable. This is a great resource for your retreat, prayer group, or book club.

Prayer is a gift from God; praying is a practice. We are always a simple word or single step away from a conversation with God. And yet taking that step or saying that word can sometimes feel confounding. This book draws from the deep well of Christian history to make praying a habit to enjoy in our crazy, bustling, wearying times. With seven ways of approaching prayer and practical examples of those ways to pray, you will find yourself regularly and repeatedly turning to God and finding him happy to hear from you.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781641583770
Publisher:	Tyndale House Publishers
Publication date:	09/14/2021
Pages:	192
Product dimensions:	5.40(w) x 8.20(h) x (d)

About the Author

Amy Boucher Pye is a writer, speaker, and spiritual director. The author of several books, including the award-winning Finding Myself in Britain, she runs the Woman Alive book club and writes regularly for publications including Our Daily Bread and New Daylight. She has an MA in Christian spirituality from the University of London and enjoys leading retreats, including at El Palmeral in Spain and Lee Abbey, Devon.

Table of Contents

Foreword ix

Introduction 1

1 God's Word to Us: How to Pray with the Bible 9

2 Lectio Divina: How to Pray through the Bible 25

3 The Indwelling God: How to Practice the Presence of God 41

4 Hearing God: How to Listen in Prayer 65

5 The Prayer of Lament: How to Cry Out to God 91

6 Entering the Story: How to Pray with Your Imagination 113

7 Remembering in Prayer: How to Move Forward by Looking Back 137

Afterword Prayer: An Adventure with God 157

Acknowledgments 165

For Further Reading 167

Notes 169

What People are Saying About This

Liz Hoare

Amy has written about tried-and-tested techniques of praying in a fresh and accessible way for a new generation. Each of the seven ways is rooted in stories and offers very practical suggestions to get you praying.

Sean Doherty

Amy writes with honesty and wisdom from profound experience and learning. Her book is refreshingly practical and accessible for anyone who wants to grow in prayer, and the ways of praying she explores are an invitation to deep encounter and intimacy with God.

Winn Collier

We’re tempted to think of prayer as something that, while it might be essential in some abstract way, exists at the periphery of “real life.” Amy Boucher Pye insists that prayer carries us into the heart of what it means to be human, into the center of pulsing life. Prayer carries us into God’s expansive world. If we want to be awakened to what is real, if we want to see with the eyes of faith, then we want to learn to pray. And Amy offers us wonderful guidance.

Elisa Morgan

Whether your prayer life is vibrant or ho-hum, 7 Ways to Pray will draw you deeper into the conversation with God you’ve always longed for. Here you’ll find a path forward to the adventure that prayer is meant to be!

Pete Greig

This is a delightfully accessible and refreshingly practical guide to prayer, drawing on a broad range of traditions. Amy’s love for the Lord, and her hard-won experience, shines through every page.

Sheridan Voysey

I once read a book on prayer by a well-known author. It was, as I expected, brilliant. But afterward I noticed something: While reading it, I hadn’t actually been moved to pray. Not so with this winsome, practical book by Amy Boucher Pye. 7 Ways to Pray not only stirred in me a hunger to know God more; it offered creative and accessible ways to do so. Keep this book close by. You’ll be returning to it again and again. Highly recommended.

Micha Jazz

Meister Eckhart, the medieval mystic, summarized prayer by saying, “If the only prayer you ever say in your whole life is ‘thank you,’ that would suffice.” Prayer easily becomes a burden for the disciple, when in fact it offers a path into God’s presence, a space free from anxiety. Amy helpfully invites us to explore approaches to prayer where we find rest for our soul.

Cathy Madavan

What a wonderful, inspirational, and much-needed book! 7 Ways to Pray brings ancient prayer patterns and practices bang up-to-date, making them meaningful and applicable in wonderfully new ways. I can’t wait to use this book regularly as a rich but practical companion to prayer—it really is a gift to Christians everywhere.

Tony Horsfall

I know few people who find prayer easy, which is why 7 Ways to Pray will meet such a great need. It is a practical, easy-to-follow guide to the life of prayer. Full of personal stories from the author and examples from church history, this book will help kick-start your prayer life and revitalize your walk with God.

Patricia Raybon

What a beautiful, powerful, and personal journey into God’s sustaining presence with the loving and sure-handed guide Amy Boucher Pye. A gentle leader and strong companion, she taps into her uncanny ability to make prayer seem both practical and divine, offering fresh and intentional ways to pray—just when we and our hurting world need prayer the most. This will prove a well-loved classic.

James Catford

Prayer is communication with God about what we’re doing together. No other book offers so many rich and practical ways to go deeper with him. I wish I had discovered 7 Ways to Pray years ago, and I will be keeping my copy close to me in the future.