Unlike some other reproductions of classic texts (1) We have not used OCR(Optical Character Recognition), as this leads to bad quality books with introduced typos. (2) In books where there are images such as portraits, maps, sketches etc We have endeavoured to keep the quality of these images, so they represent accurately the original artefact. Although occasionally there may be certain imperfections with these old texts, we feel they deserve to be made available for future generations to enjoy.

Unlike some other reproductions of classic texts (1) We have not used OCR(Optical Character Recognition), as this leads to bad quality books with introduced typos. (2) In books where there are images such as portraits, maps, sketches etc We have endeavoured to keep the quality of these images, so they represent accurately the original artefact. Although occasionally there may be certain imperfections with these old texts, we feel they deserve to be made available for future generations to enjoy.

What does it mean to pray without ceasing? Is it really that important to pray as the early Christians did?Released concurrently with Brian McLaren's series introduction, Robert Benson's "In Constant Prayer" explores the ancient practice of fixed-hour prayer, a structure for our lives where we can live in continuous awareness of God's presence and reality. This classic discipline of praying at fixed times during the day and night has transformed the lives of millions around the world. Learn what the apostle Paul meant when he encouraged the Thessalonian church to "pray without ceasing, for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.""The Ancient Practices" is a new eight-book series from Thomas Nelson Publishers, with staggered releases on individual titles through February 2010. Though various books have covered some of these spiritual disciplines, there has never been a definitive series until now. Immensely compelling and readable, each book also features a foreword by Phyllis Tickle.

What does it mean to pray without ceasing? Is it really that important to pray as the early Church did?

In this installment of The Ancient Practices series, Robert Benson presents a structure for our lives where we can live in continued awareness of God's presence and reality. A pattern for worship and prayer that is offered to God at specific times throughout the day, the daily office is meant to be prayed by all the faithful so the Church may be continuous and God's work in this world may be sustained. Yet it is highly personal too--an anchor between the daily and the divine, the mundane and the marvelous.

Says author Robert Benson, "At some point, high-minded discussion about our life of prayer has to work its way into the dailyness of our lives. At some point, we have to move from talking about prayer to saying our prayers so that the marvelous that is possible has a chance to appear."

"In Constant Prayer" is your gateway to deeper communion with God. Expect something new to unfold before you and within you while heeding this ancient call.

The Ancient Practices

There is a hunger in every human heart for connection, primitive and raw, to God. To satisfy it, many are beginning to explore traditional spiritual disciplines used for centuries . . . everything from fixed-hour prayer to fasting to sincere observance of the Sabbath. Compelling and readable, the Ancient Practices series is for every spiritual sojourner, for every Christian seeker who wants more.

"A mystical classic now easier to understand" Very few spiritual classics from centuries past offer real guidance for entering into the darkness and light of Christian mysticism. Notoriously difficult to understand, this contemporary English translation of one of the most popular texts from the late Middle Ages is different: It offers an accessible invitation to the reader to enter into an engagement with God, through this "cloud of unknowing." Mystical concepts are explained in everyday language. Written by an anonymous fourteenth-century author, "The Cloud of Unknowing" was originally prepared for cloistered monks. Yet it has found centuries of readers from all walks of life. Each brief chapter offers the spiritual seeker a way to enter into the life of prayer and appeals to the reader's common sense in beginning steps on the path to knowing a God beyond all knowing. A foreword by bestselling author, Robert Benson, special to this edition, helps to put this classic text within reach of everyday Christians.

If you long for more meaningful connections to other people...
We've never needed this book more than we do right now. Most of us are involved with people all day long, every day, but rarely do we feel a part of real community in our lives.
In "A Good Neighbour" Robert Benson takes an intimate look at how others are defining, discovering, nurturing and sustaining life and love right where they are. Facing the confusing conflictions of modern life head on, Benson shows what it means to live in our neighborhoods, work at our jobs, be family, and friends, in ways that build places of relationship, love and mutual support.
Praise for Robert Benson:
"Robert Benson's writing reminds us of things we have half forgotten. It opens our eyes to things we have only half seen."
-Frederick Buechner
"Benson's writing is spare, simple, understated, always faintly humurous, and very forceful without seeming to be."
-Paula D'Arcy

"There is no shortage of good days," writes Annie Dillard. "It is good lives that are hard to come by." Reflecting on what makes a "good life," Robert Benson offers a warmhearted, humorous guide to enriching our lives with the wisdom of Benedict, a 6th century monk. Each chapter is shaped around a Benedictine principle: prayer, rest, community, and work, and reveals the brilliant and infinitely practical ways that Benedictine spirituality can shape our lives today. Benson is honest and wise, sharing his own failings and the constant tension that he feels between the demands of the temporal and the spiritual. For anyone who feels caught in a web of conflicting priorities, or who finds the pace of modern life more draining than fulfilling, A Good Life will come as a welcome treat for the soul.