I read this book the first time in 2001 and it changed me. Based upon the writings of Catholic monk Thomas Merton, it helped me see that we live in God’s presence all the time so prayer is not so much a reaching out to God (because He is already here), but a melting away of a mist (frequently made up of our highly driven minds) preventing us from becoming moment-by-moment aware of God’s awesome presence.

In the book, the author states, “Prayer without words is not so much expressing our dependence on God as experiencing it and being so overwhelmed by that experience that words become so inadequate that they are useless.” And this presence when we recognize it connects us intimately and completely to the source of all love.

As I faced joblessness, I felt a constant struggle between my worries, anxiety, and depression, on the one side, and clearly seeing God’s hand caring for me and my family. My emotions and clarity had a rollercoaster like way about them. After my stress was greatly reduced with the completion of my job search, the rollercoaster stabilized and gave me a renewed sense of gratefulness. But very quickly I had to deal with the challenges boredom can excert on your faith walk. It is clearly a lifelong struggle no matter what your circumstances, but the approach presented in the book helped me better understand the essense of my spirituality and how to deal with the challenges I face.

This is a great resource for moving ahead in your spirituality and starting an adventure in awareness you may never have thought possible.