Fan the Flame: Meditations for Spiritual Direction

The Scriptures have been much analyzed in study groups, class-rooms, commentaries and pulpits. But the particular insights found by those who journey along the path of prayer are ones that can only come from the perspective of that discipline. The practice of prayer helps identify an application of theology that is inherent in Scripture, but often overlooked by more analytical approaches. For anyone pursuing truth in their relationship with God, an understanding of spiritual direction in light of Scripture is essential. In the tradition of Christian contemplatives and mystics from the early centuries to the present, Rob Des Cotes brings fresh insights to many familiar biblical passages, applying them to prayer and to the transforming work of spiritual direction. The numerous images and creative metaphors of the spiritual journey found in these concise and thought-provoking meditations are both contemporary while deeply rooted in the classics of Catholic, Orthodox and Reformation contemplative traditions. Rob Des Cotes is a spiritual director, retreat leader and pastor of Imago Dei (www.imagodeicommunity.ca), a network of faith communities that encourages the practice of prayer and a transforming relationship with God. He has taught spiritual theology at Trinity Western University, Columbia Bible College and at Carey Theological College and is also associated, as a spiritual director, with a number of churches and Christian institutions.