From Contemplation to Action: The Spiritual Process of Divine Discernment Using Elijah and Elisha as Models - Paperback

by Mark G. Boyer (Author)

Contemplation is a spiritual process involving long, thoughtful, steady, serious, and attentive consideration or observation in order to achieve closer unity with God and to discover and understand God's will for the contemplative. Contemplation gives rise to activity, and activity, in turn, gives rise to more contemplation. The result of contemplation is often called discernment, seeing clearly what is at first not very clear or obvious, understanding what is not immediately obvious, resulting in accuracy of spiritual perception. Divine discernment is contemplation in action; it results in insight, inspiration, and an awareness of inner truth upon which one must act. While there are countless models of contemplation leading to action, the ninth-century BCE prophets Elijah and Elisha are the examples used in this book. Both are seers, messengers, and heralds of the LORD. They appear in activity when they are needed, and they disappear into solitude and silence when they are not.

Author Biography

Mark G. Boyer--a well-known author--has been writing books on biblical spirituality for thirty years. He has written fifty-seven spirituality-based volumes that prompt the reader to recognize the divine in everyday life. This is his seventeenth Wipf and Stock title.