Stan's Reviews > The Way of the Heart: Connecting with God Through Prayer, Wisdom, and Silence

Nouwen examined what the Dessert Fathers and Mothers have to say to ministers in our time. He sought to answer the question: “What is required of a man or a woman who is called to enter fully into the turmoil and agony of the times and speak a word of hope? (2).” In the teachings of the dessert fathers and mothers, Nouwen discovered the wisdom to be attained through the spiritual practices of solitude, silence, and prayer. In solitude, focused time with God alone and no distractions, we come face-to-face with our own nothingness which forces us to surrender ourselves totally and unconditionally to Christ alone. This solitude is vital because, “ministry can be fruitful only if it grows out of a direct and intimate encounter with our Lord (21).” Solitude breeds compassion for others. “Silence completes and intensifies solitude (35).” In silence, we learn to speak only words that have true value. Silence breeds an ever-growing charity from which we minister to others. “Solitude and silence can never be separated from the call to unceasing prayer (63).” Nouwen distinguishes between the prayer of the mind and the prayer of the heart. “The crisis of our prayer life is that our mind may be filled with ideas of God while our heart remains far from him. Real prayer comes from the heart (71).” The prayer of the heart breeds unconditional surrender to the mercy of God. This develops Christ-likeness. One “should strive to let his prayer remodel the whole of his person (75).” Nouwen was a Roman Catholic priest, professor, writer, and theologian. The Way of the Heart is almost uncanny in that Roman Catholicism is not obvious. There is no Mariology and no mention of the Sacraments. Rather, the work points to Christ and to Scripture. Thereby, it is suitable for all Christians. Nouwen focuses on spirituality for ministers because, “The discipline of leading all our people with their struggles into the gentle and humble heart of God is the discipline of prayer as well as the discipline of ministry (87).”