Flee, Be Silent, Pray: Ancient Prayers for Anxious Christians

by Ed Cyzewski, Jon M. Sweeney (Foreword by)

Overview

What if prayer could be simple rather than strenuous?

Anxious, results-driven Christians can never pray enough, serve enough, or study enough. But what if God is calling us not to frenzied activity but to a simple spiritual encounter? What if we must merely receive what God has already given us?

In Flee, Be Silent, Pray, writer and contemplative retreat leader Ed Cyzewski guides readers out of the anxiety factory of contemporary Christianity and toward a God whose love astounds those quiet long enough to receive it. With helpful guidance into solitude, contemplative prayer, and practices such as lectio divina and the Examen, Cyzewski guides readers toward the Christ whose yoke is easy and whose burden is light.

Ready to shed the fear of the false self and the exhaustion of a duty-driven faith? Flee. Be silent. Pray.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781513804316
Publisher:	MennoMedia
Publication date:	02/12/2019
Pages:	212
Product dimensions:	5.00(w) x 8.00(h) x 0.63(d)

About the Author

Ed Cyzewski is the author of Flee, Be Silent, Pray; A Christian Survival Guide; Coffeehouse Theology; and other books. His writing has appeared in Christianity Today and Leadership Journal, and he blogs regularly at Patheos. Cyzewski founded The Contemplative Writer website and leads contemplative prayer retreats. Cyzewski has a master of divinity from Biblical Theological Seminary in Philadelphia and works as a freelance writer and editor. He and his wife have three children. Connect with him at EdCyzewski.com.
 

Table of Contents

Foreword 9

Author's Preface 11

1 Say Goodbye: Exiting the Anxiety Factory 15

2 Start At Love: Learning What Jesus Knew 33

3 Pray With Scripture: Moving from Defensive to Devotional Reading 53

4 Cheat at Prayer: Recovering the Ancient Prayers of the Church 71

5 Don't Forget To Be Mindful: Practicing the Examen 87

6 Retreat: Making Peace with Solitude 101

7 Be Quiet: Lord, We Just … Need to Be Silent 119

8 Begin with Intention: Learning Centering Prayer 137

9 Accept Mystery: God Works in the Darkness 155

10 Now What? Alternatives to Consumer Contemplation 177

Recommended Reading 197

Acknowledgments 199

Notes 201

The Author 207

Editorial Reviews

"This book will challenge and change you. It will require things of you that you may not think you are capable of, but in the end you will discover that, instead of having read a typical how-to book, you have encountered a written icon: a window into God, allowing for deeper intimacy and understanding."

Reviews - Tara Owens

Too many believers lose faith when confronted with the silence, solitude, and mystery of death and suffering, especially believers who have an expectation that faith must involve words, certainties, and forward movement. In Flee, Be Silent, Pray, Ed Cyzewski introduces us to a God who dwells in the sanctuary of solitude, and he shares practices that enable us to do the same. This is a book that gives space for believers who need more than answers and certainties. This is a book for believers who want to find the presence of God in both life and death.

Caleb Wilde

"Ed Cyzewski is reaching back into the history of Christian practice to recover a contemplative tradition. If you're looking for a still point in our turning world—the silence at the heart of faithful action—you should read this book."

Reviews - Jonathan Wilson-Hartgrove

In Flee, Be Silent, Pray, Ed Cyzewski sucks out the anxious performance poison that plagues so many Protestant prayers by reminding us of this simple truth: life-giving prayer is rooted in the depths of knowing God’s love. If you find yourself in a prayer rut, if you find your prayer life dying on the vine, pick up Flee, Be Silent, Pray and discover the freedom of contemplative prayer.

Seth Haines

As an evangelical activist, I need to be honest and say the title of this book frightened me—but I’m so glad I read it! Ed Cyzewski writes about the importance of contemplative practices specifically for people like me: people who are burned out from trying to save the world and to make God love us. Rooted in history and ancient practices and grounded in both current politics and religious movements, Flee, Be Silent, Pray is incredibly relevant in an age of turmoil and anxiety. It’s a book I will turn to time and time again as I orient myself toward receiving and extending the love of God to myself and to my neighbor.

D.L. Mayfield

With gentle and hard-won wisdom, Ed Cyzewski opens our eyes to the ways our culture—both the secular and the Christian—has created ‘raw materials for anxiety production.’ He is a compassionate guide, giving voice to fears that he has wrestled with. Ed’s book reminds me that the search for God is full of distractions and that a contemplative life means consistently reorienting my posture toward God. But ‘flee, be silent, and pray’ are not words that encourage us hide from darkness. Instead, they are contemplative practices that—when followed—reveal God’s presence with us in both the suffering and joy of the world. Ed’s offering to anxious Christians is beautifully simple: ancient paths that reveal and heal.

Christiana N. Peterson

I hope evangelicals discover the contemplative prayer practices that Ed Cyzewski introduces in this fine book and incorporate them into their lives. I hope they introduce these practices into their churches and make those churches stronger as a result. This hope is why I was penciling “Yes!” in the margins throughout Flee, Be Silent, Pray. . . . Flee, Be Silent, Pray is like a toolkit of implements we all can use to shape our souls and change the world.

Jon M. Sweeney