Toward God: The Ancient Wisdom of Western Prayer

Fantastic book! Many wonderful thoughts/ideas in pursuing life growing closer to God. Plan to re-read many times. It is required reading for my son who has joined seminary and is now in Rome for 1st year training. Just got his list of books they wanted him to bring. He hasn't read it yet, but I thoroughly enjoyed it.

Sometimes when I purchase a book on methods of prayer, I wonder if I should be reading about prayer or should I just get down to the act of praying itself. I can say to myself "well, I need to read these books for professional reasons" but more often than not, I read them for myself, and when I read books such as Michael Casey's TOWARD GOD, I find new insights about prayer that help me in the discipline of prayer and hopefully, draw me closer to God. For Casey, prayer is both communication with God and being in the presence of God, the latter being the more important. This is in keeping with the traditions of the Trappist order to which he belongs, traditions which stem from a literal interpretation of the Rule of St. Benedict. For Casey, prayer is not so much something we do as much as a response to the deepest desires of our hearts to be in communion with God. He introduces readers to some of the great spiritual writers on prayer. He also introduces readers to Christian meditation and contemplation as well as Lectio Divina, a topic he further develops in his book SACRED READING. TOWARD GOD is not so much a how to or a dictionary of prayer, but a description of the way a spiritual life can be ordered and an invitation to use the methods that Casey himself has found helpful, as have so many over the centuries. He also writes his book in a way that makes readers realize that Benedictine methods of prayer are not reserved for monks in monasteries alone and just about anyone who wishes can us these methods daily and not just on rare retreat moments. The book will be helpful for anyone interested in prayer and hoping to develop a deeper relationship with God. Casey also has unique insights so it will also be interesting for people who may already have a regular routine of prayer and wish to enrich it or revitalize it. For me, I have found the book most helpful at times when my prayer is a bit dry. The book has a way of reminding the reader what prayer is all about and at times this is what we need to continue to grow in our relationship with God.

Michael Casey has writeen several books on the practice of spiritual disciplines and spirituality. All are worthwhaile, but this is perhaps his best. It is certainly the starting place for beginning to read his work. As a protestant / neo-pentecostal / evangelical, I found that I was drawn to his way of emphasizing that prayer is a relationship, not an activity or duty per se. This perspective helps me understand the fundamnetals of prayer, and this is what this book is about. Although I have read many books on prayer, from Catherine Marshall to Jack Hayford, from Pope John Paul to the classics, few are more helpful than this book. I find myself rereading certain passages over and over. The only book I have read recently that has had the same impact might be Nouwen's "The Only Necessary Thing." These two books are made out of the same cloth.

Michael Casey, an Australian Trappist monk, has written a wonderful primer on prayer in clear language. TOWARD GOD is an enlightening reflection based on personal experience, touching all the major aspects of the subject of prayer from the Western Christian tradition. I have read many books on prayer, including the great classics, but this is the one I have read over and over.

For anyone who wants to pray but does not know how to pray! Casey helps with a variety of methods and shows that there is not just one way to move toward God. I like the idea that one should use all these ways of praying rather than just one. Casey writes for everyone, not just Catholics. I am a Protestant who found the insights into prayer universal. Casey writes in a way that invites all to pray; gay, straight, feminist, believer or skeptic.