ORIGINAL PRAYER

Paperback

A personal tour of the great styles of prayer in the Christian tradition.

Original Prayer takes us on a tour of some classic styles of prayer, as developed and popularized by such figures as Teresa of Avila, Francis of Assisi, St. Benedict, Ignatius Loyola, as well as the Jesus Prayer of the Orthodox tradition, and the worship of Taizé. All of these styles have much in common. As Lavinia Byrne writes, “Prayer is not our work. It is something the Holy Spirit does in us . . . We pray in Christ, uniting our prayers with the prayers of Jesus.” Yet each approach has its particular appeal. After looking at these classic approaches, Byrne examines the relation between prayer and music and art, and even considers the challenge of “prayer in cyberspace.” Finally, writing personally from her own experience, she contemplates the role of prayer in times of suffering.