Lord, Teach Us to Pray

Although Jesus of Nazareth was a devout first-century Jew, in the twenty-first century he is often lost in the thickets of Christian theology, reflection on the wisdom of his words, and the busyness of church life. But Jesus is more than words about Jesus. What can we know about Jesus the Jew? What filled his daily life? Why did people come to him in great numbers? At a time in the church's life when ""spiritual formation"" has become a priority, it is rare to hear someone ask, ""What was Jesus' spiritual formation like and how did it influence his life?"" What can we learn from Jesus' life about spiritual formation, prayer, and our involvement in the needs of the world today? Using one hundred daily reflections, Lord, Teach Us to Pray enables readers to experience Jesus' prayer from the point of view of his Jewish life of prayer. Reflections explore Jesus' periods of quiet intimacy with his Abba, his commitment to Sabbath worship in synagogues, his participation in the great Jewish feasts at the Jerusalem temple, and the ways in which his life of prayer became the womb of his compassionate engagement with the poor, the ill, sinners, and the ""unclean"" in his society. ""This charming book is a well of spirituality. Keller . . . calls us back to the truth that Jesus had no degree, wrote no book, yet spoke heart to heart about God in a way that the disciples' hearts 'burned within them.' These one hundred scintillating meditations offer us Jesus the teacher on prayer: the church's first and last master of the ways of the Spirit."" --Archpriest John A. McGuckin, Professor of Byzantine Christianity, Columbia University ""David Keller's distinctive focus on Jesus' own spiritual formation as a Jew, the initiation he provides into the social and religious milieu in which Jesus proclaimed the onset of God's reign, and his searching and stimulating recommendations for experiments in reflection and prayer will make this book a godsend for [anyone] who wants in-depth guidance for a one-hundred-day spiritual journey."" --Martin Smith, Episcopal priest, writer and retreat leader ""In creating these practical and profound reflections, Keller provides a model for how historical studies can inform and enrich our spiritual lives."" --Pamela Hedrick, Adjunct Faculty, Online Theology Programs, Saint Joseph's College ""[Keller] offers fresh, valuable insights into Jesus' prayer and actions in the context of first-century Jewish understanding. I highly recommend this book to anyone wanting to steep their minds and hearts in the full range of Jesus' life of prayer, and his invitation for us to share his direct availability to God's living Spirit."" --Tilden Edwards, Founder and Senior Fellow, Shalem Institute for Spiritual Formation ""Lord, Teach Us to Pray feeds two hungers of our age: the desire for interfaith understanding--especially among Christians and Jews--and passion for authentic spirituality . . . [This] book is delicious, rich and healthy food for our spiritual pilgrimage in our own day."" --The Rev. Jonathan Linman, Assistant to the Bishop for Faith and Leadership Formation, Metropolitan New York Synod, Evangelical Lutheran Church in America ""This charming book is a deep well of spirituality. Fr. Keller, who brings to his New Testament reflections all the honed skills he has learned from years in the academy, here calls back to us the perennial truth that Jesus had no degree, wrote no book, yet spoke heart to heart about God in such a way that the disciples' hearts 'burned within them.' These 100 scintillating meditations offer us Jesus the teacher on prayer: the Church's first, and last, master of all the ways of the Spirit."" --Archpriest John A McGuckin, Professor of Byzantine Christianity, Columbia University