Table of Contents

Acknowledgements
Abbreviations

1. Introduction
2. Contemplation
3. Petition
4. Invocation
5. Pneumatology
6. Revolt
7. Conclusion

Bibliography
Index

Promotional Information

Ashley Cocksworth offers the major treatment of Karl Barth’s theology of prayer.

About the Author

Ashley Cocksworth is the Tutor in Systematic Theology at the Queen's Foundation, Birmingham, UK. He studied theology at the University of Edinburgh, UK and received his doctorate from the University of Cambridge, UK.

Reviews

A thoroughly researched and thoughtful study of Barth’s theology of prayer…It is a study and book to learn from and chew over, and will likely prompt the reader to return refreshed with new questions to read over again some of Barth’s many pages.
*Modern Theology*

A model piece of contemporary Barth scholarship and a valuable offering to theological understandings of prayer ... A worthy contribution from a scholar who promises both church and academy further valuable work on prayer, and Barth studies, in the future.
*Journal of Reformed Theology*

[Ashley Cocksworth] unpacks Barth’s understanding of prayer and situates it within the overall oeuvre, demonstrating that it is a constitutive element of Barth’s overall project…There is a creativity here and a fresh reading that opens up new areas of thought. The breadth of engagement effectively demonstrates that prayer was a concern for Barth throughout his work; the depth of analysis reveals that prayer is a constitutive element of Barth’s understanding of many theological concerns.
*The Center for Barth Studies*

Not all theologians write about the relationship of prayer and Christian theology. In this splendid study, Cocksworth (systematic theology, Queen's Foundation, UK) offers a persuasive demonstration that prayer stands at the center of Karl Barth’s theological work. For Barth, Cocksworth writes in his conclusion, “‘prayer’ and theological ‘work’ are not imagined to be independent or sequential but one and the same.” Cocksworth describes treatments of prayer in Barth’s works before focusing on particular aspects of prayer: contemplation, petition, invocation, pneumatology, and revolt. Though Barth was uneasy with historic, contemplative prayer, Cocksworth sees his theology of the Sabbath as providing room for contemplation. Summing Up: Recommended. Upper-division undergraduates through faculty.
*CHOICE*

This is not only a deep and original study of Barth on prayer, engaging with the whole Church Dogmatics and a great many of this other writings, and showing how utterly central prayer is to his conception of Christian life, politics and theology; Cocksworth also sensitively relates Barth to other traditions of prayer, especially contemplation and meditation. His culminating original insight is into the importance of Barth's development beyond a main emphasis on petition to an embracing 'turn to invocation'. Anyone interested in Barth or prayer should appreciate this profound and perceptive book.
*David F. Ford, University of Cambridge, UK*