Creating a Life with God (20th Anniversary Revised edition), Daniel Wolpert. Upper Room Books (ISBN: 9780835820394) 2023

Summary: Prayer practices for relationship with God, in silence and solitude, with mind and body, alone and in community.

When Daniel Wolpert is asked, “What do you do for a living?” he answers, “I am a student of the spiritual life.” This book represents forty years of study, twenty since the first edition of its publication. Originally written for leaders of youth ministries, the book serves as a wonderful introduction to a dozen prayer practices that have enriched the lives of Christians for centuries. Two new chapters address praying in an environmental apocalypse and how prayer may be socially transformative.

Each of the chapters begins with a “traveling companion,” a Christian individual or group closely identified with that practice. The companions range from the desert fathers and mothers and Saint Benedict through Saint Francis, the Beguines, and Howard Thurman. The chapters begin with an introduction to the history of the practice and proceed to practical instruction. An appendix offers further step by step instructions for each practice. Wolpert gives suggestions for use of the practice both individually and in groups.

Wolpert begins with a “gateway” practice of silence and solitude. Then he focuses on a series of “mental” practices: lectio divina, the Jesus prayer, apophatic prayer, the examen, creativity and prayer, and journaling. Next, he discusses bodily practices including body prayer and walking. For body prayer, he uses the example of Heloise and Abelard, offered as an example of negative views of the body. He commends breath prayer and body sculpture prayers where a scripture is read and a word focused upon that is then acted upon with a bodily pose.. Walking is very slow, deliberate walking with each step taken toward God. He also discusses the use of labyrinths.

The final chapters take prayer into the world. Wolpert explores praying in nature, prayer and our stuff, and prayer in community. I appreciated the way he addressed “climate anxiety,” which may apply to other anxieties of our age. Specifically, he encourages the prayer of asking and listening for what we may do. We needn’t expect that the answer will solve a crisis, but lead us to simply partner with God. Likewise, in praying for social transformation, he bids us to embrace the way of Jesus rather than “Christian religion” that has harmed many

This introduction to prayer practices is not “dumbed down” but reflects a “simplicity on the other side of complexity.” Wolpert emphasizes that we not attempt to teach what we have not practiced. It is evident that he has spent a life in these practices, informed by spiritual examples who have preceded him. There is something for those at every stage of the journey, because all of us are “creating a life with God,” or at least longing to.

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Disclosure of Material Connection: I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher via Speakeasy for review.