The intriguing book “Making It Personal” by Tim C. Foley takes us back in time to discover discursive prayer. Prayers that have some reflection and consideration of some mystery of faith. Since language began, this verbal practice has existed. It started when prehistoric people sought refuge from terrifying and amazing natural events.
Imagine the first time our distant ancestors saw thunderous lightning. One likely asked the “great and powerful One” to spare them from God’s wrath. People prayed for many reasons, including fear. As they became more spiritual, people prayed for physical and spiritual safety.
When prayer was invented in early human societies, spiritual leaders helped others pray. Abraham’s prayer for Sodom and the Psalms demonstrate discursive prayer’s long history.
Discursive prayer has helped many people for a long time. Jesus commanded to love one another and taught his disciples of the Lord’s Prayer at the start of his ministry, which can be turned into a faithful prayer.
The first Christian prayers attempted to connect the soul to the Infinite One in the second century after Christ. These lengthy, talkative prayers can help you find stillness and strengthen your relationship with God.
Dionysius the Areopagite, a sixth-century Syrian monk, stressed mystic reflection and the divine gift of truth. The anonymous author of the fourteenth-century Cloud of Unknowing and later mystics Gregory, Bernard, and Aquinas were influenced by his teachings.
These lengthy prayers remind us of the spiritual path these holy people travelled before us. Their advice and insights help us pray and connect with people worldwide as we grow closer to God.
In “Making It Personal,” Tim C. Foley gives a fascinating history of discursive prayer and shows how it has always helped people connect with God.