Brian D. Russell - Centering Prayer: Sitting Quietly in Gods Presence Can Change Your Life

Most of us sort out lifes problems using words and logic. Brian Russell shows us a better wayto begin from our divinely designed center of gravity: prayer. The best way to experience lavish love and pay it forward is to pray (and play) it forward. This book could change your life.

Leonard Sweet, best-selling author, preacher, and educator

We live in a crazy world, where people are stressed and burning out. Spiritual burnout occurs when we dont give ourselves time to stop and rest from our busy routine. More than ever, we need to recenter our lives on Christ. More specifically, we need to rediscover the practice of centering prayer that will help sustain us. Centering Prayer is a timely book. Read it and you will be refreshed, renewed, and recentered in the presence of God.

Dr. Winfield Bevins, Director of Church Planting at Asbury Seminary and author of Ever Ancient Ever New

Brian Russell shares his story of moving from intellectual assent to heartfelt experience of being loved by God. How did that transformation happen? Read this book to find out for yourself, and you too might discover the beauty of sitting in silence before the One who knows you completely and loves you deeply.

Virginia Todd Holeman, PhD, LPCC, Professor of Counseling, Asbury Theological Seminary

Soon enough, none of us will remember life before the internet. Our online technologies will have become a kind of foundational myth. Something essential will be missing from our lives, something our ancestors took entirely for grantedan ability to be absent. Whether you are leading in the marketplace or the Church, Centering Prayer offers you timeless practices that will help you foster a spirituality that is not just another connection but is the connection to grow in your love of God, neighbor, and yourself.

Dr. Mark Dunwoody, Co-Founder of Missional Formation Coaching and author of Healthy Rhythms for Leaders

Brian Russell invites us to recenter ourselves in Gods loving presence through centering prayer. As a gifted teacher and experienced practitioner, Brian is a trustworthy guide for anyone who thirsts, not only to know more about God, but to be with God and walk in his way of love every day.

Alastair Sterne, lead pastor of St. Peters Fireside in Vancouver, British Columbia, and author of Rhythms for Life

Russell gives a very down-to-earth, practical presentation of centering prayer and how it can help us grow in the spiritual journey. In particular, he shows how beautifully it reflects the Scriptures and how it can open us up to the healing power of Gods Spirit, as experienced through silence. I think this is a very useful read for anyone trying to grow in the spirit.

Rev. Dr. Murchadh Madagin, author of Centering Prayer and the Healing of the Unconscious

The loss of prayer in the Christian church is not due to lack of time. We binge-watch Netflix with immense efficiency. It is due to a deep conviction. We think were better at things than God. Brian Russell invites us not to a new way, but the old way, which is laced with patience and quiet, hope and love, yearning and hoping. Highly recommended.

A. J. Swoboda, assistant professor of Bible, theology, and World Christianity at Bushnell University and the author of After Doubt

Brian has been to the desert of a fullblown spiritual and emotional crisis, and he knows the way through. The practice of centering prayer has been a sustaining force in his life, and now he shares deep insights from his own growth and failures. This is more than a bookit is a pathway into the transformative love of God.

Rev. Dr. Michael Adam Beck, author and Director of the Fresh Expressions House of Studies at United Theological Seminary

Dr. Brian Russells book is an indispensable guide to discovering the depths of Gods love, who we are, and how were created to live.

John Carroll, Director of the School of Kingdom Living, Dallas Willard Ministries

Sitting Quietly in Gods Presence Can Change Your Life

BRIAN D. RUSSELL

2021 First Printing

Centering Prayer: Sitting Quietly in Gods Presence Can Change Your Life

Copyright 2021 by Brian D. Russell

ISBN 978-1-64060-643-2

Unless otherwise indicated, Scriptures are taken from the New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright 1989, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Scripture quotations marked niv are taken from The Holy Bible, New International Version NIV Copyright 1973 1978 1984 2011 by Biblica, Inc.TM Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

The Paraclete Press name and logo (dove on cross) are trademarks of Paraclete Press

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Names: Russell, Brian D., 1969- author.

Title: Centering prayer : sitting quietly in Gods presence can change your life / Brian D. Russell.

Description: Brewster, Massachusetts : Paraclete Press, 2021. | Summary: How centering prayer can enrich your soul and help you experience Gods transforming love-- Provided by publisher.

Identifiers: LCCN 2021015023 (print) | LCCN 2021015024 (ebook) | ISBN 9781640606432 | ISBN 9781640606449 (epub) | ISBN 9781640606456 (pdf)

Subjects: LCSH: Contemplation. | Prayer--Christianity. | BISAC: RELIGION / Christian Living / Prayer | RELIGION / Christian Living / Spiritual Growth

Classification: LCC BV5091.C7 R87 2021 (print) | LCC BV5091.C7 (ebook) | DDC 248.3/2--dc23

LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2021015023

LC ebook record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2021015024

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All rights reserved. No portion of this book may be reproduced, stored in an electronic retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any meanselectronic, mechanical, photocopy, recording, or any otherexcept for brief quotations in printed reviews, without the prior permission of the publisher.

Published by Paraclete Press

Brewster, Massachusetts

www.paracletepress.com

Printed in the United States of America

God moves toward us on a mission of love . We love because God first loved us. John 3:16 famously states, For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have eternal life. Through the Holy Spirit, Gods love is poured out into our hearts (Rom. 5:5). This is the heart of the good news. God invites us to serve as witnesses and embodiments of Gods love to the world.

I dont know about you, but Ive struggled living out this vision consistently. Ive come to the conclusion that the root of the problem is deeper than my conscious thoughts about God. As a trained theologian and pastor, I can articulate Christian doctrine well. Ive read Scripture consistently now for over thirty-five years. Ive preached hundreds of sermons. Ive taught biblical studies for over twenty years at the graduate level. Ive spoken at dozens of churches, conferences, and camps on topics related to the interpretation of Scripture.