A Short and Easy Method of Prayer was originally circulated privately but proved to be so popular that it was finally made available to the public in 1685. Written by French mystic, writer, and preacher MADAME JEANNE-MARIE BOUVIER DE LA MOTTE-GUYON (1648-1717), this brief treatise is divided into 24 chapters, each chapter a step along the path to God. These clear and simple precepts-translated from the French by Thomas D. Brook and published in English in this edition in 1867-were written with the average person in mind, and include Madame Guyon's thoughts on meditation, self-abandonment, suffering, self-examination, distractions and temptations, prayer as a sacrifice, the distinction between inward and outward acts, and more. Madame Guyon's words of encouragement will inspire the modern reader much as they inspired her 17th-century counterpart.
