Praying in the Spirit of Christ: 52 Devotions for Today

Praying in the Spirit of Christ offers contemporary readers a compelling and holistic vision of what life in Christ can mean for them. It draws from the broad array of spiritual and theological literature that John Wesley considered most significant for growth in Christian discipleship. In this volume author Paul Chilcote utilizes the same method or approach of his earlier devotional work Praying in the Wesleyan Spirit. He has transposed brief excerpts from Wesleys fifty-volume Christian Library into fluid prayers that are written in contemporary language yet faithful to the spiritual insights of the classical sources. A hymn by Charles Wesley accompanies each prayer and a passage of Scripture frames the topic for each devotional reading. The prayers help readers ponder themes like the desire of the heart liberty in Christ thirst for God resurrection joy and unbounded love. These devotions engage head and heart and seek to shape the lives of those who pray in the spirit of Christ. FOR BACK COVER: Using this book for reading and reflection is like having the great cloud of witnesses as spiritual guides. Paul Chilcotes writing unlocks John Wesleys Christian Library providing us with gems for our spiritual formation. --Steve Harper retired Professor of Spiritual Formation and Wesley Studies For anyone with a contemplative heart but a full schedule this book will be a welcomed treasure! Paul Chilcote has masterfully crafted this collection of themed scripture hymns and prayers from the devotional classics that shaped John and Charles Wesleys experience of God. These ordinary Christ-followers of yesteryear understood what we need today. Pause and drink deeply! --Sharon Rowland Spiritual Director Professor Co-director of Richmont Graduate Universitys Spiritual Direction training No one knows the heart of Methodist spirituality better than Paul Chilcote. In this profoundly simple volume he draws together John Wesleys prose and Charles Wesleys poetry in a way that brings us--the reader and prayer--into the presence of Christ. This is a book of prayer for the entire church not just the Wesleyan related denominations. --Tom Albin Director of Spiritual Formation and Congregational Life The Upper Room Ministries Nashville Tennessee FOR FRONT MATTER: Over the years I have come to value so much the unusual gifting of Paul Chilcote as a Wesleyan scholar and author. He has the rare ability to share the rich treasures of his own faith tradition both with those of his own tribe and beyond. This he always does in a way that is fresh winsome and powerfully attractive. In Praying in the Spirit of Christ he accomplishes this again. Here he takes the rich devotional inheritance that shaped the lives of the Wesley brothers drills down deep and makes it available to us in 52 prayers that we can pray ourselves. Phrased in contemporary English Paul shows how an ancient-future approach to discipleship can speak so powerfully to our hearts and minds today. You can be sure that as you live with this book you will be drawn into the kind of faith that works through love towards a holiness of heart and life. I commend this work highly and with much gratitude to God for Pauls life and witness. --Trevor Hudson author of Discover Your Spiritual Identity Paul W. Chilcote is Professor of Historical Theology and Wesleyan Studies at Ashland Theological Seminary in Ohio. He is the author of many books including Praying in the Wesleyan Spirit and A Faith That Sings.