The Path of Celtic Prayer by Calvin Miller was published by Intervarsity Press in 2007 as part of the Formatio series. Formatio presents studies on spiritual formation. Miller's contribution seeks to glean what contemporary Christians can learn from the prayers of the Celtic Christians.
Miller's reflections on his visits to Celtic Christian sites and on the reading of Celtic literature leads him to six principles of prayer that Miller believes will help deepen the prayer life of the contemporary believer. At the same time, Miller provides pointed observations about the shallowness of discipleship in much of the modern church in America.
The six principles are: 1) Trinity Prayer, 2)Scripture Praying, 3) Pilgrim Praying, 4) Nature Praying, 5) Lorica (breastplate) Prayer, and 6) Confessional Prayer. Miller is an evangelical scholar writing for a (primarily) evangelical audience. However, his source material is the Celtic tradition which was rooted in Roman Catholicism. Evangelicals will learn much we need to hear however about a more mystical, meditative, and theological approach to personal prayer. The chapters on Trinity prayer and confessional praying are quite insightful and reflect nuances of the devotional life often overlooked in today's evangelical church.
Because his focus is a Roman Catholic tradition, those of the Roman Catholic tradition, Eastern Orthodox traditions, and non-evangelical Protestants will profit as well from reading this book. The emphasis is on the believer entering into the presence of the triune God in reverent prayer. This emphasis transcends the categories of the Christian family tree.
Christians unfamiliar with the history of Christian devotion and the writings on spiritual devotion and discipleship from the richness of the history of the church may well find a whole new world opening to them in this brief introduction to Celtic prayer. The 170 pages are an easy, but mind-provoking, read. More importantly, I think you will find this book spirit-provoking.
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