As a nod towards St. Patrick’s day it is worth writing about a book I have been working through in the last month. I am not yet finished with the book but have found some joy and insight for my prayer life through Calvin Miller’s book, The Path of Celtic Prayer: An Ancient Way to Everyday Joy. Miller has writen a delightful book on six types of praying drawn from the Celtic tradition. With each type he prompts the reader to develop his or her own adaption of the "model" for conversation with the Triune God. Here are the six types: Trinity Prayer–the art of loving all of God; Scripture Prayer–praying the Bible back to its author; Long, Wandering Prayer–seeing life as a single, unending prayer; Nature Prayer–poetry and praise in ordinary life; Lorica Prayer–asking God for protection; and Confessional Prayer–living in agreement with God.
For Confessional Prayer, Miller drawns from Patrick’s Confessio or Confession: "I am Patrick, a sinner." This chapter has fed my intrigue to the promise of healing in the process of confession found in James 5:16. "Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective." So many times in my own life the path to healing and restoration of unity with Christ and with people has come by bringing the truth of my sin into the light. I believe our church needs more obedience to this word and therefore more humility in relationship to each other. As a pastor I realize that I am often needed to be an archetect of space and relationships that are safe for such confession to occur.
Patrick, I believe created that space for others by sharing his story with humility and honesty. "I am Patrick, a sinner; the most unsophisticated of people; the least among all the Christians; and to many, the most contemptible." "And there the Lord opened my understanding to my unbelief, so that, however late, I might become conscious of my failings. Then remembering my need, I might turn with all my heart to the Lord my God. For it was he who had mercy on the ignorance of my youth, and who looked after me before I knew him and before I had gained wisdom or could distinguish between good and evil. Indeed, as a father consoles his son, so he protected me."
The journey into a greater appreciation and experience of God’s savlation is led by an unsettling vision of His love and justice for us in Christ and the inquiring work of the Holy Spirit. I appreciate what Miller writes: "Confession brings us to a new dimension of living. It give us the ability to escape all false opinions of ourselves. We who confess are driven by the haunting question, What’s wrong with me? There is a gut-level, unsettled feeling that things are not right with us or the world. We want things to be settled." The settling of our soul begins with complete undefended honesty and agreement with God about the condition of our souls. The path, though painful at times, leads us into the greatest joy–the joy of our resurrected Lord.
I recommend the book heartily to those who desire for Christian Celtic studies to move beyond an academic pursuit into an adventure of expanded prayer life with God.
