Opening to God: Lectio Divina and Life as Prayer

by David G. Benner

Overview

Most Christians want to experience spiritual transformation. But many are frustrated by the limited progress of our spiritual self-improvement efforts. We find our praying burdened by a sense of obligation and failure.

But prayer is not merely something we do; prayer is what God does in us. Prayer is not just communication with God—it is communion with God. As we open ourselves to him, God does the spiritual work of transformation in us.

Spiritual director and psychologist David Benner invites us to discover openness to God as the essence of prayer, spirituality, and the Christian life. Prayer is far more than saying words to God; all of life can be prayer when offered to God in faith and with openness. Using the four movements of lectio divina, Benner explores prayer as attending, pondering, responding, and being. Along the way he opens us to a world of possibilities for communion with God: praying with our senses, with imagination, with music and creativity, in contemplation, in service, and much more.

Learn how prayer can be a way of living. Move beyond words to become not merely someone who prays, but someone whose entire life is prayer in union with God.

This expanded edition includes a new afterword and an experiential guide with questions for individual reflection or group discussion.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780830846863
Publisher:	InterVarsity Press
Publication date:	04/13/2021
Edition description:	Enlarged/Expanded, Expanded Edition
Pages:	208
Sales rank:	425,472
Product dimensions:	5.50(w) x 8.50(h) x 0.70(d)

About the Author

David G. Benner (PhD, York University) is an internationally known depth psychologist, author, and wisdom teacher whose life's work has been directed toward facilitating human unfolding through a journey of awakening and transformation. He is the founding director, teacher, and mentor of Cascadia Living Wisdom. He has authored many books, including The Spiritual Journey trilogy: Surrender to Love, The Gift of Being Yourself, and Desiring God's Will.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments 9

Introduction: Transforming Openness to God 11

1 More Than You Can Imagine 15

2 Preparing for the Divine Encounter 31

3 Lectio Divina and Four Classic Prayer Paths 47

4 Prayer as Attending 65

5 Prayer as Pondering 87

6 Prayer as Responding 109

7 Prayer as Being 129

8 Life as Prayer, Prayer as Life 149

9 Transformational Prayer 163

Afterword: Trusting Openness 175

Study Guide for Reflection and Discussion 183

Notes 197

What People are Saying About This

Jonathan Wilson-Hartgrove

"Opening to God is an invitation to prayer—not just a book about prayer, but a guide for daily practice. Like an intimate retreat with a spiritual master, it brings centuries of wisdom close enough to speak to our lives. I've never met David Benner, but I felt like I was reading someone who'd listened to my prayers."

Peter Scazzero

"David Benner has given us another great gift with Opening to God. A tremendous book on prayer for people at all stages of their relationship with God. Practical, devotional and rich. This is a book I will go back to again and again."
— Peter Scazzero, pastor and author of Emotionally Healthy Spirituality

Margaret Guenther

"David Benner's Opening to God should become a classic! It is warm, wise, gentle and challenging. For the beginner or the experienced it offers guidance in the Christian prayer practice of lectio divina, making this ancient monastic approach to prayer wonderfully accessible to the contemporary seeker. By no means is it a rigid or opaque 'how to' book, but rather an invitation to go ever deeper in the life of prayer. Reading it is like a conversation with a trusted friend."
— Margaret Guenther, Episcopal priest and author of Holy Listening: The Art of Spiritual Direction and The Practice of Prayer

Richard Rohr

"This book represents a new maturity in spiritual thinking and teaching.David Benner is wise, broad and deep all at the same time. And you will be too after you finish this wonderful book."
— Richard Rohr, O.F.M., Center for Action and Contemplation, Albuquerque, New Mexico

Gary W. Moon

"One of the great blessings of my life is to have experienced scores of warm and insightful conversations with David Benner. I have walked away from almost every one with a deeper openness to the transforming love of God. And that is exactly how I was impacted while reading this wonderful book. What a gift! Life as lectio; life as prayer."
— Gary W. Moon, M.Div., Ph.D., vice president and integration chair, Richmont Graduate University, and author of Apprenticeship with Jesus

Trevor Hudson

"In Opening to God David Benner comes alongside our lives as a wise and discerning companion. His words water our desire for God, encourage us in our spiritual practice and widen our lenses through which we view the landscape of prayer. They will speak to any heart that longs for a deeper, closer and more intimate walk with God."
— Trevor Hudson, South African pastor and author of Questions God Asks and Discovering Our Spiritual Identity: Practices for God's Beloved (forthcoming)

Phyllis Tickle

"In Opening to God, David Benner has given us a generous, comprehensive and very pastoral guide not only to the myriad types of prayer open to us as Christians, but also to the informing attitudes and physical nuances which can enable a rich prayer life in all of us."

Tony Jones

"In Opening to God, David Benner has gifted us with a thoughtful and comprehensive guide to Christian prayer. The intimacy with which Benner writes about prayer betrays a deep and abiding knowledge of the subject, thus this book is destined to be valued by individuals and groups alike in their quest for more intimacy with God."

Editorial Reviews

"One of the great blessings of my life is to have experienced scores of warm and insightful conversations with David Benner. I have walked away from almost every one with a deeper openness to the transforming love of God. And that is exactly how I was impacted while reading this wonderful book. What a gift! Life as lectio; life as prayer."

Gary W. Moon

"In Opening to God, David Benner has given us a generous, comprehensive and very pastoral guide not only to the myriad types of prayer open to us as Christians, but also to the informing attitudes and physical nuances which can enable a rich prayer life in all of us."

Phyllis Tickle

"This book represents a new maturity in spiritual thinking and teaching. David Benner is wise, broad and deep all at the same time. And you will be too after you finish this wonderful book."

Richard Rohr

". . . [A] good introduction for Christians seeking a deeper experience of connecting to God in prayer. . . . [T]here is much in Benner's book that can be appropriated by anyone seeking to understand better how we can follow the biblical commands to 'pray without ceasing' (1 Thess. 5:17) and 'to abide with God'— whether he or she is a beginner or an experienced pilgrim in the life of unceasing prayer."

Todd E. Pickett

"David Benner's Opening to God should become a classic! It is warm, wise, gentle and challenging. For the beginner or the experienced it offers guidance in the Christian prayer practice of lectio divina, making this ancient monastic approach to prayer wonderfully accessible to the contemporary seeker. By no means is it a rigid or opaque 'how to' book, but rather an invitation to go ever deeper in the life of prayer. Reading it is like a conversation with a trusted friend."

Margaret Guenther

"Opening to God is an invitation to prayer—not just a book about prayer, but a guide for daily practice. Like an intimate retreat with a spiritual master, it brings centuries of wisdom close enough to speak to our lives. I've never met David Benner, but I felt like I was reading someone who'd listened to my prayers."

Jonathan Wilson-Hartgrove

"In Opening to God David Benner comes alongside our lives as a wise and discerning companion. His words water our desire for God, encourage us in our spiritual practice and widen our lenses through which we view the landscape of prayer. They will speak to any heart that longs for a deeper, closer and more intimate walk with God."

Trevor Hudson

"David Benner has given us another great gift with Opening to God. A tremendous book on prayer for people at all stages of their relationship with God. Practical, devotional and rich. This is a book I will go back to again and again."

Peter Scazzero

"In Opening to God, David Benner has gifted us with a thoughtful and comprehensive guide to Christian prayer. The intimacy with which Benner writes about prayer betrays a deep and abiding knowledge of the subject, thus this book is destined to be valued by individuals and groups alike in their quest for more intimacy with God."

Tony Jones

"In Opening to God, David Benner has given us a generous, comprehensive and very pastoral guide not only to the myriad types of prayer open to us as Christians, but also to the informing attitudes and physical nuances which can enable a rich prayer life in all of us."

--Phyllis Tickle, compiler, The Divine Hours

"Opening to God is an invitation to prayer--not just a book about prayer, but a guide for daily practice. Like an intimate retreat with a spiritual master, it brings centuries of wisdom close enough to speak to our lives. I've never met David Benner, but I felt like I was reading someone who'd listened to my prayers."

--Jonathan Wilson-Hartgrove, coauthor, Becoming the Answer to Our Prayers

"David Benner has given us another great gift with Opening to God. A tremendous book on prayer for people at all stages of their relationship with God. Practical, devotional and rich. This is a book I will go back to again and again."

--Peter Scazzero, pastor and author of Emotionally Healthy Spirituality

"David Benner's Opening to God should become a classic! It is warm, wise, gentle and challenging. For the beginner or the experienced it offers guidance in the Christian prayer practice of lectio divina, making this ancient monastic approach to prayer wonderfully accessible to the contemporary seeker. By no means is it a rigid or opaque 'how to' book, but rather an invitation to go ever deeper in the life of prayer. Reading it is like a conversation with a trusted friend."

--Margaret Guenther, Episcopal priest and author of Holy Listening: The Art of Spiritual Direction and The Practice of Prayer

". . . [A] good introduction for Christians seeking a deeper experience of connecting to God in prayer. . . . [T]here is much in Benner's book that can be appropriated by anyone seeking to understand better how we can follow the biblical commands to 'pray without ceasing' (1 Thess. 5:17) and 'to abide with God'-- whether he or she is a beginner or an experienced pilgrim in the life of unceasing prayer."

--Todd E. Pickett, Journal of Spiritual Formation Soul Care, November 2011

"In Opening to God David Benner comes alongside our lives as a wise and discerning companion. His words water our desire for God, encourage us in our spiritual practice and widen our lenses through which we view the landscape of prayer. They will speak to any heart that longs for a deeper, closer and more intimate walk with God."

--Trevor Hudson, South African pastor and author of Questions God Asks and Discovering Our Spiritual Identity: Practices for God's Beloved

"One of the great blessings of my life is to have experienced scores of warm and insightful conversations with David Benner. I have walked away from almost every one with a deeper openness to the transforming love of God. And that is exactly how I was impacted while reading this wonderful book. What a gift! Life as lectio; life as prayer."

--Gary W. Moon, M.Div., Ph.D., vice president and integration chair, Richmont Graduate University, and author of Apprenticeship with Jesus

From the Publisher

"Opening to God is an invitation to prayer--not just a book about prayer, but a guide for daily practice. Like an intimate retreat with a spiritual master, it brings centuries of wisdom close enough to speak to our lives. I've never met David Benner, but I felt like I was reading someone who'd listened to my prayers."

Jonathan Wilson-Hartgrove (www.jonathanwilsonhartgrove.com)