The Scriptures have been much analyzed in study groups, class-rooms, commentaries and pulpits. But the particular insights found by those who journey along the path of prayer are ones that can only come from the perspective of that discipline. The practice of prayer helps identify an application of theology that is inherent in Scripture, but often overlooked by more analytical approaches. For anyone pursuing truth in their relationship with God, an understanding of spiritual direction in light of Scripture is essential. In the tradition of Christian contemplatives and mystics from the...

In the long journey of spiritual life we can often feel lost, tired, unmotivated, resistant or fearful that we are on a path that leads nowhere. It is at such times that we need to hear once again the song of the ancient pilgrims: Ultreia Ultreia -"Go farther, go higher " Where is the path? Which way is forward? Where do I find strength to carry on? The Scriptures provide particular encouragement to those whose first desire is to keep moving forward in the spiritual life. Like wind blowing over fading coals, the Spirit urges us to go farther and higher in the pilgrimage of faith. In the...

Those whose strength is in you, ...
go from strength to strength,
till each appears before God in Zion.
- Psalm 84:5, 7

Too many Christians are more resigned than need be to a stumbling
approach to spiritual growth. We presume that progress towards
maturity happens by a "two steps forward, one step back" process. But the
Biblical model doesn't quite support this view. Instead Scripture speaks of
"unveiled faces" that are being transformed "from glory to glory." It imagines
us as trees planted close to a stream, whose...