Lord, Teach Us to Pray

Although Jesus of Nazareth was a devout first-century Jew, in the twenty-first century he is often lost in the thickets of Christian theology, reflection on the wisdom of his words, and the busyness of church life. But Jesus is more than words about Jesus. What can we know about Jesus the Jew? What filled his daily life? Why did people come to him in great numbers? At a time in the church's life when "spiritual formation" has become a priority, it is rare to hear someone ask, "What was Jesus' spiritual formation like and how did it influence his life?" What can we learn from Jesus' life about spiritual formation, prayer, and our involvement in the needs of the world today? Using one hundred daily reflections, Lord, Teach Us to Pray enables readers to experience Jesus' prayer from the point of view of his Jewish life of prayer. Reflections explore Jesus' periods of quiet intimacy with his Abba, his commitment to Sabbath worship in synagogues, his participation in the great Jewish feasts at the Jerusalem temple, and the ways in which his life of prayer became the womb of his compassionate engagement with the poor, the ill, sinners, and the "unclean" in his society.

David G. R. Keller is an Episcopal priest and adjunct professor of Ascetical Theology at the General Theological Seminary in New York City. He is Director of the Contemplative Ministry Project, which he founded with Fr. Thomas Keating, OCSO. David is the author of Oasis of Wisdom: The Worlds of the Desert Fathers and Mothers, Come and See: The Transformation of Personal Prayer, and Desert Banquet: A Year of Wisdom from the Desert Mothers and Fathers.