Ancient Psalms for Contemporary Pilgrims

Brief Description

Because it is sometimes challenging for today’s Christians to move from the frenetic pace and noisy world of today’s society and enter into the silence and stillness of contemplative praying, Jeanie Miley provides a way of using the psalms as a doorway into prayer. Reading the psalm indicated for each day’s meditation and then reflecting on the day’s reading, persons are invited to “pray the psalms” in a way that connects the ancient prayers with their own present-day experience. By moving back and forth between the psalm and your own experience in prayer, Ancient Psalms for Contemporary Pilgrims provides a process through which the Living God can lead you to a deeper reflection on your own life.

About the Author

Jeanie Miley is a writer and columnist, a retreat leader, and speaker on topics of spiritual growth and contemplative prayer. She is the author of ten books and has written a weekly newspaper column, “Growing Edges,” for thirty-three years. Trained at the Spiritual Direction Institute in Houston, Texas, Jeanie has read and studied broadly in the areas of spiritual growth and is a spiritual director. Her work rests, as she says, on a “four-legged stool”—Bible study, the Twelve Steps of Alcoholics Anonymous, contemplative prayer, and Jungian psychology. Jeanie teaches a popular women’s Bible study at River Oaks Baptist Church in Houston, Texas, and at other sites in the Houston area. She is a frequent retreat leader for groups across the country. Visit www.jeaniemiley.com for more information.

Table of Contents

Foreword by Father Keith Hosey
Preface
How to Use This Book

I. Invitation: Come into His Presence
Psalm 95
Psalm 23

II. Who Is God to Me?
Healing the God-image
Psalm 27
Psalms 63; 62
Psalm 107

III. Who Am I to God?
Healing the Self-image
Psalm 8
Psalm 139
Psalm 1

IV. What Do I Do with Myself?
Making Peace with Being Human
Psalm 56
Psalms 137; 138
Psalm 143

V. What About My Stubborn Will?
Psalm 55
Psalm 88

VI. Is This Too Hard for God?
Psalm 6
Psalm 22
Psalm 31

VII. The Power to See It Through
Psalm 69
Psalm 86
Psalms 84; 131

VIII. Forgive and Forget: Setting Grace Free
Psalm 51
Psalm 32
Psalm 38

IX. Gratitude: The High Road of Faith
Psalms 66; 100
Psalms 136; 24; 146

X. Keeping the Faith: Getting Through Relapses
Psalm 37
Psalm 16
Psalm 19, Psalm 18

XI. Facing and Feeling Your Fears:
Letting the Faith Keep You
Psalm 46
Psalm 77
Psalm 121

XII. I Believe: Trust and Obey
Psalm 101
Psalm 103
Psalm 145

XIII. Resting in the Heart of God
Psalm 42
Psalms 90; 91