A few days ago, I received my copy (kindly pre-ordered by my wonderful husband) of Brian McLaren’s new book, Naked Spirituality: A Life with God in 12 Simple Words. If you haven’t bought a copy, then may I suggest that you go as quickly as you can and remedy that situation? Even after only a few chapters, I am thoroughly captivated by by the book.
I will reserve my final review for when I have finished the whole book. This may take some time, however. It isn’t the kid of book that one can devour like a novel. It also isn’t the kind of book one can read methodically, as with a factual or philosophical text. No, this is a book that must be experienced, savored, and fully appreciated. That is what I am now doing, so have patience and I will eventually be able to give a good assessment.
In the meantime, I wanted to share something meaningful that occurred to me as I was reading the first few chapters. If you haven’t read anything about the book, I will share at least this much. (I don’t want to give away too much and spoil its unfolding, lessening your enjoyment.) Each pair of chapters deal with a particular concept or word which makes up a part of the inner spiritual life. The first few chapters are all setting the stage for these later specifics.
Anyway, I found the chapter on the names for God to be very meaningful. What struck me was how many ways there are to understand the character and nature of God, yet how infrequently we draw on these, especially in prayer. We tend to being our prayers using this selection of words: God, Father, Lord, Jesus, and, occasionally, Spirit. But we don’t necessarily even add adjectives to those words. We may indeed be missing out on a fairly simple, and perhaps obvious, way to connect with God.
Broadening our approach may help others connect, too. For example, it may be difficult for some people to begin their spiritual journey by praying to the Father. Many people have had difficult or non-existent relationships with their earthly fathers, making it hard to relate to and understand a Heavenly Father. That leaves fewer options, which is no small thing when there is an appearance of limited choices to start.
Although we might describe the attributes of God, we rarely use those attributes to name God. But what if we were instead to use those descriptors as titles? Instead of describing how God has created everything, we might address our prayers to the Creator. The same goes for other attributes of God–most of the adjectives we use can be altered slightly to become names.
I don’t know how this would work in practice; there is a case to be made that it could be confusing for some new believers. Somehow, though, I think the benefits ultimately outweigh the risks. I, for one, have begun to put it into practice in my own prayers, and I have noticed that even such a seemingly simple change has dramatically altered my quiet time with God.
