GOING DEEPER

This month we are featuring two books: How to Pray by Jean Nicholas Grou and A Testament of Devotion by Thomas Kelly. Below are short descriptions and an order form.

How to Pray. My first reading of How to Pray took about six months. It was one of those books that I needed to absorb slowly over a period of time. I didn't want to just read the words, but let the experience of prayer enter and teach my heart as well. Not many books have taught me in this way.

Sometimes when we read great texts on prayer, we want to imagine the authors as living a "removed" life, something with less gritty reality than our own. Grou lived through the calamity of the French Revolution when all of Europe was in upheaval. During it, he fled Paris, taking residence with an English family. The writings in How to Pray are full of practical suggestions: how to pray with children, how to arrange one's day for prayer, counsels for those who get discouraged.

Grou's main theme is that true prayer is a gift from God. He initiates our impulse to pray and, as Paul instructs, "the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groans that words cannot express" (Rom. 8:26). We are taught that prayer is simple; all we must do is to relinquish our need to control God and let the Spirit teach us. Grace and prayer are intertwined as we begin to pray communally, continually, and when called by God to do so. -- Carol Mullikin

A Testament of Devotion. This enduring, much-loved classic has now been issued in a hard cover gift edition with a new Introduction by Richard J. Foster. It is a collection of simple and profoundly moving devotional essays.

In A Testament of Devotion, Thomas Kelly clears a path through our day-to-day worries and frustrations. Each reading reveals an unexpected facet, a new shade of meaning, another surprising recognition of eternal truth.

"I know that often the genuinely significant issues are decided in the small corners of life," writes Richard in the Introduction, "And one of the greatest gifts that Thomas Kelly brings to us is an ability to see the Holy in the most common of places and the most unexpected of events. . . . Each time I leaf through [these] pages, . . . I know I am in the presence of a giant soul. I am better for the encounter. I'm sure you will be too."

Emphasizing the centrality of devotion and Christian obedience to holiness, A Testament of Devotion is the ideal companion to . . . the lifelong conversation between God and his creatures.

-- From the Fly Leaf of A Testament of Devotion

GROWING PAINS

It is hard to put into words the events and challenges that have faced us since the last Perspective. But God continues to bless us through your prayers, support, and encouragement. And for that we are thankful.

Nine hundred seventeen precious people registered for the Second Renovaré National Conference on Personal Spiritual Renewal in Pasadena last October. All of the speakers, from Sister Bernard to Dallas Willard, were in prime form. The counselors prayed for people who received physical, emotional, and spiritual healing. We have received many, many positive comments and helpful suggestions. What a blessing!

Then, more than one hundred people pledged over $12,000.00 in response to Richard's letter mailed in November. A total of $7,000.00 has already been received. Thank you, thank you, thank you. That was blessing number two!

Blessing number three?! We sold all of the Renovaré Spiritual Formation Workbook first