Invitation to Solitude and Silence : Experiencing God's Transforming Presence

Christianity Today Book Award

"If you would really like to know the 'rest appropriate for the people of God' (Heb 4:9), then make the decision to leave all outcomes to God and enter the practice of solitude and silence with Ruth Barton as your guide. As you do so, call upon Jesus to be with you, and trust him for that." – Dallas Willard, from the foreword

Create Sacred Space to Hear the Voice of God

Much of our faith and practice is about words—preaching, teaching, talking with others. Yet all of these words are not enough to take us into the real presence of God where we can hear his voice. In Invitation to Solitude and Silence, Ruth Haley Barton invites you to meet God deeply and fully outside the demands and noise of daily life.

In Invitation to Solitude and Silence, you'll find

• chapters on topics like finding rest for the body, mind, and soul;
• an expanded edition that includes a discussion guide for groups; and
• spiritual practices to help you learn to practice silence as an individual or in groups.

Invitation to Solitude and Silence gives you an opportunity to slow down, listen, and open your heart to God's still, small voice. Will you say yes to creating space for meaningful encounters with God?

Ruth Haley Barton (DD, Northern Seminary) is founder of the Transforming Center, a ministry dedicated to strengthening the souls of pastors, leaders, and the communities they serve. Trained at the Shalem Institute and the Loyola University Chicago Institute of Pastoral Studies, she is a seasoned spiritual director, teacher, and retreat leader who has served on the pastoral staff of several churches. Ruth is the author of numerous books on the spiritual life, including Strengthening the Soul of Your Leadership, Invitation to Solitude and Silence, Sacred Rhythms, and Embracing Rhythms of Work and Rest.

Dallas Willard (1935–2013) was a renowned teacher, an acclaimed writer and one of our most brilliant Christian thinkers. He was as celebrated for his enduring writings on spiritual formation as he was for his scholarship, with a profound influencein the way he humbly mentored so many of today's leaders in the Christian faith. His books include The Divine Conspiracy (a Christianity Today Book of the Year), The Spirit of the Disciplines, Hearing God, Renovation of the Heart, and others.