Beginning to Pray

I was lent this book in the Solomons. It is old, published in 1970. But I have not read anything like it before.
Anthony Bloom was the Russian Orthodox Archbishop for Britain. He grew up in France after the Russian Revolution, and trained to be a doctor, which he continued to practice after becoming a monk.

This short book begins with an interview with Anthony which in itself is really interesting.

The next 100 pages deal with prayer, using stories from the Orthodox tradition and the gospels. It is delightfully written, easy to read, and profound.

He begins by stating that the absence of God is the necessary beginning of real prayer! Until God is absent we rely on feelings we generate ourselves and our own efforts. When we live with the absence of God, then and only then are we forced to admit our absolute dependence on God, and that prayer is a gift from God. I have never read anything like that before.

The chapters are:
• The Absence of God
• Knocking at the Door
• Going Inward
• Managing Time
• Addressing God
• Two meditations – The Mother of God and Staretz Silouan.

The challenging part is that in the West we have come to a point where we feel pretty good with ourselves. We are not so bad. But Anthony is clear, that until we feel and know the depths of our unworthiness and need for God we will go nowhere. Only when we feel and know this will we knock and truly look for God, for only then will we know our need.

He does not leave us wallowing in our desperation, but gently leads us into ourselves and into God. He finishes by inviting us to find the name God has given us to call God. Not an impersonal “father God” or “God Almighty” but a personal name that is at the heart of who God is for us and who we are for God.

This is a gentle and very readable book. I need to send this back to the owner now, but I will hunt it out and buy a copy or two. An excellent read