Pray Without Ceasing : Revitalizing Pastoral Care

Taking seriously Paul's exhortation in 1 Thessalonians to "pray without ceasing," Deborah Van Duesen Hunsinger challenges pastors and congregations to put prayer at the center of their Christian practice and theological reflection.In this prayerful book, Hunsinger reclaims spiritual practices from token use and unites them in a dynamic network of interdependent caring traditions. She begins with the three foundational disciplines of spiritual reading, careful listening, and self-reflection. Hunsinger then explores prayer through petition, intercession, confession, lament, and thanksgiving. Finally she offers practical, workable suggestions for developing pastoral care groups and teaching care-giving skills at the congregational level.As Hunsinger contends in her introduction to "Pray without Ceasing," "When structures for a praying community are created at every level of a church's common life, the blessing of a congregation that 'prays without ceasing' will enrich the whole church." Clergy and laity will reap the benefits of this revitalizing look at the spiritual disciplines as dynamic forces in the life of the church.

Deborah van Deusen Hunsinger is associate professor of pastoral theology at Princeton Theological Seminary.