The 15-Minute Prayer Solution: How One Percent of Your Day Can Transform Your Life

by Gary Jansen

Overview

2017 Catholic Press Association Book Awards, Honorable Mention: Prayer, Books About Prayer

What might happen if you gave just ONE PERCENT of your day to God?

I don’t have time to pray. I don’t know how to pray. I don’t know what to pray for. Perhaps you identify with one or all of these statements; most people do. But with Gary Jansen’s The 15-Minute Prayer Solution, anyone can learn to turn those “I don’t” statements into “I do” declarations— and be transformed in the process.

Drawing on spiritual practices from the Christian tradition throughout the centuries, Jansen offers numerous and wide-ranging prayer exercises that can be completed in less than fifteen minutes. The Jesus Prayer, lectio divina, the Examen, imaginative prayer, and many more ways to joyfully encounter the Living God are explained. Deeply personal stories, thought provoking modern-day parables, and even humorous anecdotes bring spiritual ideas down to earth, revealing the practical side of prayer.

And, as Jansen himself discovered, if you’re willing to take just fifteen minutes a day to pray, you may soon find that the entirety of your life has become a prayer, a relentless desire to place God at the center of everything.

Now in paperback: Gary Jansen's bestselling Exercising Your Soul retitled, repackaged and revised!

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780829444070
Publisher:	Loyola Press
Publication date:	12/01/2015
Pages:	206
Product dimensions:	5.00(w) x 7.00(h) x 0.56(d)
Age Range:	12 - 18 Years

About the Author

Gary Jansen is a popular speaker and the author of several books, including the multi-award-winning MicroShifts, The 15-Minute Prayer Solution, Station to Station, Life Everlasting, and the memoir Holy Ghosts. Jansen has appeared on A&E, the Sundance Channel, the Travel Channel, Coast to Coast AM, CNN.com, and NPR. His writing has been featured in the Chicago Sun-Times, USA Today, Huffington Post, Thrive Global, Angelus, and Religion Dispatches. Jansen worked at Penguin Random House for 25 years where he was the editor on several New York Times bestsellers. He is now the executive editor of acquisitions at Loyola Press.

Table of Contents

Contents

Part One: The Reason Why … 1
1 White Rabbits
2 What Is a Spiritual Exercise?
3 Souls, Mustard Seeds, and Redefining Humanity
4 Prayer, Meditation, and Contemplation
 
Part Two: The Prayer Exercises … 55
5 Learning to Listen
6 Breath Prayer
7 Centering Prayer
8 Lectio Divina
 
Part Three: Encountering God Exercises … 85
9 The Holy Pressure
10 Heroes and Arks
11 Feel It, See It, Taste It, Touch It, Smell It
12 The Resurrection: Past, Present, Future
13 The Hands of God
14 The Examen
15 Dying to God
16 Thanksgiving
17 The Geometry of the Cross
18 Editing
 
Part Four: Exercising with the Parables … 141
19 The Parable of the Sower (Day 1)
20 The Parable of the Greatest in the Kingdom of Heaven (Day 2)
21 The Parable of the Lost Sheep (Day 3)
22 The Parable of the Unmerciful Servant (Day 4)
23 The Parable of the Good Samaritan (Day 5)
24 The Parable of the Workers in the Vineyard (Day 6)
25 The Parable of the Lost Son (Day 7)
 
Coda … 167
Acknowledgements … 177
About the Author … 179

What People are Saying About This

Anthony DeStefano

Gary Jansen has done it again! This book is must reading for anyone who wants to understand and experience the miraculous power of prayer. Read it and transform your life from head to soul.

John Schlimm

The 15-Minute Prayer Solution is a sacred pause amidst our busy everyday lives, drawing us closer to God's illuminating love and warm embrace.

Therese Borchard

Gary Jansen has accomplished what no other spiritual author before him has: explained the Spiritual Exercises of Ignatius of Loyola in language I understand! He educates, entertains, and inspires with his charming stories and simple prose.
 

Michael A. Singer

Gary Jansen offers us a simple and powerful truth: Give God fifteen minutes each day, and you will begin to experience God in every moment. With compassion, wisdom, humility, and practical simplicity, Gary Jansen shows that by making a small space in your life each day for prayer and contemplation, your entire life will become filled with the presence of God. Read The 15 minute Prayer Solution and you will learn how to experience a deep and fulfilling relationship with the Divine Beloved.

 

Colleen Carroll Campbell

Think you don't have time to pray? You'll reconsider after reading this gentle but persuasive invitation to a Spirit-led life. In The Fifteen-Minute Prayer Solution, Gary Jansen blends evocative imagery, intimate personal stories and concrete suggestions to help even weary seekers rediscover the joy of finding God in all things.

James Martin

Prayer is not just for the saints, but for you. Gary Jansen's beautiful book is filled with simple, how-to advice on jump-starting your relationship with God. Using insights from the Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius Loyola, Jansen offers straight-forward advice on how to begin, or deepen, your relationship with the One who loved us into being.

Justin Fatica

Gary Jansen's powerful book will send you into a spiritual awakening. Start reading The Fifteen-Minute Prayer Solution and you will truly desire to love others in a new way. He not only writes a beautiful work, but more importantly, he lives the message.

Joan Chittister

Gary Jansen’s The 15-Minute Prayer Solution is a book that fills a real need.  This book takes people where they are in the spiritual life—busy, overloaded, and feeling empty—and teaches them how to pray in the midst of a revolving-door world. Jansen takes the best of the tradition and shows people how to make it real today. To understand the full fruit of this very modern and very traditional primer on prayer, this book ought to be discussed with others as well as read alone.

Alexander J. Shaia

Whether you are a veteran or a novice in prayer, this jewel of a book holds inspiration for us all.

Matthew Kelly

Brilliant! Whether you are a beginning or a veteran of the spiritual life I think you will find Gary Jansen's approach immensely practical.

Jennifer Fulwiler

Many people know about God, but few have actually encountered him. In this much-needed book, Gary Jansen helps us take our faith from a dry intellectual exercise to a powerful personal encounter.
 

Mike Aquilina

I love this book. Gary Jansen has an endearing, attention-deficit quality that lets him deliver big lessons not only painlessly, but humorously. He goes deep, and takes us readers deep, without even a whiff of pious unction. For Jansen, a tattooed foot on the subway is the start of a mystical flight. By the end of the story, we know that these everyday distractions should be graces for us as well.
 

Editorial Reviews

Gary Jansen has done it again! This book is must reading for anyone who wants to understand and experience the miraculous power of prayer. Read it and transform your life from head to soul.

Anthony DeStefano

Whether you are a veteran or a novice in prayer, this jewel of a book holds inspiration for us all.

Alexander J. Shaia

Brilliant! Whether you are a beginning or a veteran of the spiritual life I think you will find Gary Jansen's approach immensely practical.

Matthew Kelly

Gary Jansen offers us a simple and powerful truth: Give God fifteen minutes each day, and you will begin to experience God in every moment. With compassion, wisdom, humility, and practical simplicity, Gary Jansen shows that by making a small space in your life each day for prayer and contemplation, your entire life will become filled with the presence of God. Read The 15 minute Prayer Solution and you will learn how to experience a deep and fulfilling relationship with the Divine Beloved.

 

Michael A. Singer

Think you don't have time to pray? You'll reconsider after reading this gentle but persuasive invitation to a Spirit-led life. In The Fifteen-Minute Prayer Solution, Gary Jansen blends evocative imagery, intimate personal stories and concrete suggestions to help even weary seekers rediscover the joy of finding God in all things.

Colleen Carroll Campbell

I love this book. Gary Jansen has an endearing, attention-deficit quality that lets him deliver big lessons not only painlessly, but humorously. He goes deep, and takes us readers deep, without even a whiff of pious unction. For Jansen, a tattooed foot on the subway is the start of a mystical flight. By the end of the story, we know that these everyday distractions should be graces for us as well.
 

Mike Aquilina

Gary Jansen has accomplished what no other spiritual author before him has: explained the Spiritual Exercises of Ignatius of Loyola in language I understand! He educates, entertains, and inspires with his charming stories and simple prose.
 

Therese Borchard

Gary Jansen's powerful book will send you into a spiritual awakening. Start reading The Fifteen-Minute Prayer Solution and you will truly desire to love others in a new way. He not only writes a beautiful work, but more importantly, he lives the message.

Justin Fatica

The 15-Minute Prayer Solution is a sacred pause amidst our busy everyday lives, drawing us closer to God's illuminating love and warm embrace.

John Schlimm

Gary Jansen’s The 15-Minute Prayer Solution is a book that fills a real need.  This book takes people where they are in the spiritual life—busy, overloaded, and feeling empty—and teaches them how to pray in the midst of a revolving-door world. Jansen takes the best of the tradition and shows people how to make it real today. To understand the full fruit of this very modern and very traditional primer on prayer, this book ought to be discussed with others as well as read alone.

Joan Chittister

Prayer is not just for the saints, but for you. Gary Jansen's beautiful book is filled with simple, how-to advice on jump-starting your relationship with God. Using insights from the Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius Loyola, Jansen offers straight-forward advice on how to begin, or deepen, your relationship with the One who loved us into being.

James Martin

Many people know about God, but few have actually encountered him. In this much-needed book, Gary Jansen helps us take our faith from a dry intellectual exercise to a powerful personal encounter.
 

Jennifer Fulwiler

"Many people know about God, but few have actually encountered him. In this much-needed book, Gary Jansen helps us take our faith from a dry intellectual exercise to a powerful personal encounter."
– Jennifer Fulwiler, radio host and author of Something Other than God

"Think you don't have time to pray? You'll reconsider after reading this gentle but persuasive invitation to a Spirit-led life. In "The Fifteen-Minute Prayer Solution," Gary Jansen blends evocative imagery, intimate personal stories and concrete suggestions to help even weary seekers rediscover the joy of finding God in all things."
– Colleen Carroll Campbell, author of My Sisters the Saints: A Spiritual Memoir

 

"Gary Jansen has done it again! This book is must reading for anyone who wants to understand and experience the miraculous power of prayer. Read it and transform your life from head to soul."
– Anthony DeStefano, author of Ten Prayers God Always Says Yes To 

 
“Gary Jansen’s The 15-Minute Prayer Solution is a book that fills a real need.  This book takes people where they are in the spiritual life—busy, overloaded, and feeling empty—and teaches them how to pray in the midst of a revolving-door world. Jansen takes the best of the tradition and shows people how to make it real today. To understand the full fruit of this very modern and very traditional primer on prayer, this book ought to be discussed with others as well as read alone.”
– Joan Chittister, O.S.B., author of Between the Dark and the Daylight

"The 15-Minute Prayer Solution is a sacred pause amidst our busy everyday lives, drawing us closer to God's illuminating love and warm embrace."
– John Schlimm, award-winning author of Five Years in Heaven
 

"[A] well-done spiritual workbook...enlightening and useful."
- Publishers Weekly 

"Prayer is not just for the saints, but for you. Gary Jansen's beautiful book is filled with simple, how-to advice on jump-starting your relationship with God. Using insights from the Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius Loyola, Jansen offers straight-forward advice on how to begin, or deepen, your relationship with the One who loved us into being."
- James Martin, SJ, author of Jesus: A Pilgrimage

"Gary Jansen's powerful book will send you into a spiritual awakening. Start reading The Fifteen-Minute Prayer Solution and you will truly desire to love others in a new way. He not only writes a beautiful work, but more importantly, he lives the message."
- Justin Fatica, author of Hard as Nails and Win it All

"Gary Jansen has accomplished what no other spiritual author before him has: explained the Spiritual Exercises of Ignatius of Loyola in language I understand! He educates, entertains, and inspires with his charming stories and simple prose." 
- Therese Borchard, author of Beyond Blue

"I love this book. Gary Jansen has an endearing, attention-deficit quality that lets him deliver big lessons not only painlessly, but humorously. He goes deep, and takes us readers deep, without even a whiff of pious unction. For Jansen, a tattooed foot on the subway is the start of a mystical flight. By the end of the story, we know that these everyday distractions should be graces for us as well." 
- Mike Aquilina, author of Angels of God and Executive Vice-President, St. Paul Center for Biblical Theology

"Whether you are a veteran or a novice in prayer, this jewel of a book holds inspiration for us all."
- Alexander J. Shaia, PhD, author of The Hidden Power of the Gospels: Four Questions, Four Paths, One Journey 
 

Gary Jansen offers us a simple and powerful truth: Give God fifteen minutes each day, and you will begin to experience God in every moment. With compassion, wisdom, humility, and practical simplicity, Gary Jansen shows that by making a small space in your life each day for prayer and contemplation, your entire life will become filled with the presence of God. Read The 15 minute Prayer Solution and you will learn how to experience a deep and fulfilling relationship with the Divine Beloved.
- Michael A. Singer, New York Times bestselling author of The Untethered Soul and The Surrender Experiment
 

“Brilliant! Whether you are a beginning or a veteran of the spiritual life I think you will find Gary Jansen's approach immensely practical."
– Matthew Kelly, New York Times bestselling author of The Rhythm of Life 

From the Publisher