https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=csEabhoFKm4
I'm tempted to answer this question, "How do I pray?" with the Nike answer, “Just do it.” You can get all complicated about it and have all kinds of forms, structures, rules, and regulations and miss the whole point of prayer. What is prayer? Prayer is just being in the presence of God and conversing. [epq-quote align="align-right"]Prayer is just being in the presence of God and conversing.[/epq-quote] I don't need to be told how -- occasionally I do, but shouldn't-- to have a conversation with my wife. Sometimes, I don't even need to have a conversation; I can just sit and be in her presence. Sometimes, we say to each other, "Can we just not talk?" There's an element of prayer that is like that: meditative prayer. But we are meant to talk to God, and he talks back to us. There's a book by Don Whitney called "Praying the Bible,” - reading through the Bible and turning what you read into prayer. It's a very simple thing to do: read one verse and turn it back into a prayer to God. It's like a two-way conversation. There were times in my life when prayer has been difficult. There have been times when I felt my prayers were hitting a ceiling and bouncing back again. There are times of stress, times of trial, and times of difficulty. Sometimes God withdraws the light of his countenance for a season to make us want him more and to be glad when he returns. In those periods, what do you do? In those darker periods, walk through the Bible and turn each verse back into a prayer.
This book is a significant contribution to Christian doctrinal theology. It covers the main loci concisely and competently in a way that makes it suitable for classroom use. I expect it to have a wide usefulness in the years ahead.
George Hunsinger, Hazel Thompson McCord Professor of Systematic Theology
This is an important contribution to the ongoing renewal of Reformed dogmatics in the ecumenical context of our time. It should have a significant impact on current discussion and feed into the systematic reconstruction of Reformed theology that is gradually taking shape before our eyes.
Gerald Bray, Research Professor of Divinity
If one imagines that a strong traditional rootage implies looking backward and resting on dead stereotypes, here is the refutation! If one imagines that claiming a clear confessional identity is a mark of timidity and narrow-mindedness, here is the refutation! The twelve authors of Christian Dogmatics--through the diversity of their styles and their abundant use of the fathers as well as medieval and modern masters--demonstrate the 'catholic' relevance of Reformed theology. A scholarly yet readable synthesis that both anchors and vivifies the intelligence of the Christian faith.
Henri A. G. Blocher, Professor of Systematic Theology
This volume features a stellar lineup of established and emerging Reformed theologians who represent a range of perspectives. The contributors are united, however, in their commitment to strong historical work that leads to fruitful engagement with current debates and to rich ways forward for contemporary dogmatics.
Suzanne McDonald, Professor of Historical and Systematic Theology
This is a rich feast. In their introduction, the editors assert that 'dogmatics is the disciplined effort to have our eyes and mouths retrained by the gospel.' In Christian Dogmatics, leading theologians address core topics, offering both an important resource for such retraining and a compelling vision of what retrained eyes can see and what retrained mouths will confess. Every chapter repays careful reading and reflection.
Stephen R. Holmes, Senior Lecturer in Systematic Theology
