Breaking Through God's Silence: A Guide to Effective Prayer

Yount, former chairman of the College of Preachers and a member of the executive committee of the Washington National Cathedral, has written a very elementary primer on prayer. He defines prayer as love letters to God. The Creator, according to the Bible, has found many innovative ways of romancing us. We keep the dialogue going with expressions of praise, sorrow, gratitude or petition. Yount discusses ways to achieve a meditative state and how to overcome various obstacles. He explicates the Lord's Prayer for those who still are unsure of how to address God and offers 10 keys to effective prayer such as ""Beware of employing prayer for wish fulfillment."" He then unfurls more than 100 of the greatest prayers from such masters as St. Francis of Assisi, John Wesley, Dietrich Bonhoeffer and others. (June)