Table of Contents

Introduction: Prayer in the School of Desire
Ashley Cocksworth and John C. McDowell

Part A: Biblical Perspectives

1. Prayer in the Scriptures of Israel, the Christian Old Testament
Christopher R. Seitz
2. Moses on Mount Sinai in the Early Christian Contemplative Tradition
Ann Conway-Jones
3. Transfiguring Speech: Prayer and the Psalms
Kevin G. Grove
4. Prayer in the New Testament
Stephen C. Barton
5. An Exegetical History of the Lord’s Prayer: The First to the Sixth Century
Roy Hammerling
6. Ultimate Desire: The Prayer of Jesus in John 17
David F. Ford

Part B: Doctrinal Perspectives

7. Doctrine and Prayer
Mike Higton
8. The Act of Prayer and the Doctrine of God
Katherine Sonderegger
9. Creation and Prayer
Simon Oliver
10. The Christology of Prayer: Praying in Christ who is Priest, Prophet, and King
Tom Greggs
11. The Intercession of the Holy Spirit: Pneumatology and Prayer
Matthew Levering
12. The Hiddenness of Providence: Praying to a God Beyond Speech
Susannah Ticciati
13. Eschatology and Prayer
Gerald O’Collins

Part C: Historical Perspectives

14. Christian Prayer in the Pre-Nicene Period
Frances M. Young
15. Following an Arc of Prayer: Clement, Origen, Evagrius, and John Cassian
Columba Stewart
16. The Cappadocians on the Beauty and Efficacy of Prayer
Gabrielle Thomas
17. Augustine on Prayer
Jonathan D. Teubner
18. The Formulation of Prayer for the Formation of Faith in the Early Middle Ages, c. 700-900
Renie S. Choy
19. Anselm on Prayer: Lament of Self and Contemplation of God
Travis E. Ables
20. Thomas Aquinas, Scholasticism and Prayer
Jacob Holsinger Sherman
21. Retrieving Luther on Prayer: Spirituality in the Production of Christian
Doctrine
Paul R. Hinlicky
22. Pour Out Your Hearts Before God: John Calvin on Prayer
Randall C. Zachman
23. The Spanish School of Prayer
Peter Tyler
24. Prayer in Modern Philosophy
Scott A. Kirkland
25. Karl Barth’s Very Theological Theology of Prayer
Ashley Cocksworth
26. The Scope and Status of Prayer in Balthasar's Theology
Travis LaCouter
27. Thomas F. Torrance on Christ, the Mediator of Christian Prayer
John C. McDowell

Part D: Contemporary Perspectives

28. Prayer and Natural Science: Brains, Bodies and Effects
Andrew Davison
29. Prayer in Analytic Theology
James M. Arcadi
30. Inter-Religious Dialogue: A Provocation to Pray
Catriona Laing
31. Prayer: An Orthodox Perspective
Andrew Louth
32. Silence, Breath, Body, Cry: Poetry and Prayer
Elizabeth S. Dodd
33. Reconciliation: The Place of Prayer in Conflict and Peace-Making
Siobhán Garrigan
34. The Lord’s Prayer in the Life and Liturgy of the Church
Medi Ann Volpe
35. Prayer and Pastoral Ministry
Stephen Burns
36. Prayer, Gender and the Body
Nicola Slee
37. Christian Prayer in Black and Blue
Andrew Prevot
38. Praying with the Unwanted People at the End of the World
Cláudio Carvalhaes
39. Psalm 139 – A Prologue to Prayer
Tina Beattie

Index

Promotional Information

An edited volume on the theology of prayer from a variety of biblical, historical, doctrinal, and practical perspectives.

About the Author

Ashley Cocksworth is Senior Lecturer in Theology and Practice at the University of Roehampton, UK.

John C. McDowell is Associate Dean at Yarra Theological Union, Melbourne, and is Professor of Philosophy, Systematic Theology and Moral Theology.

Reviews

This massive anthology is a rich treasury of wide-ranging theological reflections on the fundamental and indispensable place of prayer (both personal and communal/liturgical) within Christian faith and life ... [this volume] makes a worthy addition to the library of any seminary or theology school, or of anyone seeking a more profound theological exploration of Christian prayer.
*Teresianum*

The collection of essays in this volume offer a set of rich and diverse perspectives on the topic of Christian prayer. In laying out the theological accounts of the context of prayer, the editors of this volume are able to set the scene for an exciting array of contemporary perspectives on prayer that bring prayer into dialogue with the concrete realities of modern life. Prayer, in this volume, is lifted out of reductive and traditional categories and positioned within broader patterns of identification with radical and subversive potential. A superb collection of essays.
*Karen O’Donnell, Sarum College, UK*

A fascinating and important collection of essays on the theology of prayer. Cocksworth and McDowell have done us all a service in bringing together such a tremendous range of voices. The result is a handbook of real intellectual and spiritual depth.
*Karen Kilby, Durham University, UK*

The subject of prayer has too often been neglected in the textbooks. Yet this arresting collection of essays describes ways in which it animates, informs, and directs our theological work. With an impressive range of topics and authors, there is a welcome diversity of perspectives that will be appreciated by a wide readership. Highly recommended!
*David Fergusson, University of Cambridge, UK*

This comprehensive collection not only provides an entry into the doctrine of Christian prayer, but also connects its nature with liturgy, ministry, ethics, and other inter-disciplinary inquiries. Approaching prayer from biblical, doctrinal, historical, and contemporary perspectives, this stimulating book would certainly be an invaluable resource for church as well as academy.
*JinHyok Kim, Torch Trinity Graduate University, Korea*

Drawing on the work of a diverse and high-profile collection of scholars, this incisive volume bears witness to prayer as non-neutral and theologically complex. Through engagements with doctrine, scripture, historical and contemporary perspectives, this indispensable collection provides a detailed, holistic, and future-oriented treatment of prayer.
*Katie Cross, University of Aberdeen, UK*

I found something to stimulate, educate or interest me even in the contributions which were from perspectives which were new or even alien to me.
*The Global Anglican*