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A Quaker prayer life arises from a life of continuing daily attentiveness. The first generation of Quakers followed a covenant with God, based on assidious obedience to the promptings of the Inward Light. This process did not require the established churches, priests or liturgies. Quaker prayer then became a practice of patient waiting in silence. Prayer is a conscious choice to seek God, in whatever form that Divine Presence speaks to each of us, moment to moment. The difficulties we experience in inward prayer are preparation for our outward lives. Each time we return to the centre in prayer we are modelling how to live our lives; each time we dismiss the internal intrusions we are strengthening that of God within us and denying the role of the Self; every time we turn to prayer and to God we are seeking an increase in the measure of Light in our lives. David Johnson is a Member of Queensland Regional Meeting of the Australia Yearly Meeting of the Religious Society of Friends. David is a geologist with both industry and academic experience, and wrote The Geology of Australia, specifically for the general public. He has a long commitment to nonviolence and opposing war and the arms trade, and has worked with the International Campaign to Ban Landmines. David delivered the 2005 Backhouse Lecture to Australia Yearly Meeting on Peace is a Struggle. He was part of the work to establish the Silver Wattle Quaker Centre in Australia in 2010, and was Co-Director of the Centre for 2013-14.… (more)
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Johnson clearly put much time and effort into assembling this book, but I am driven to ask him: "What canst thou say?" I hope he will mature as a writer and become brave enough to tell us!
Even with this criticism this book is well worth reading. Four stars, easily.
Had I read the book remembering the actual title, "A Quaker Prayer LIFE" I would have read it with a different slant. So, for my mistake, I have upgraded it to 4.5 stars.
The author, David Johnson, by using numerous quotations from early Quaker sources, places the prayer of inward silence at the heart of the Quaker tradition. Johnson has clearly spent much time with these early sources and is able to present the essence of the method of the prayer of inward silence in a way that is accessible. His writing is easy to follow, clear, and the instructions will benefit both newcomers and those who have engaged in this style of prayer for many years." - Jim F. Wilson, on Amazon.