A Guide to Spiritual Discernment

Spiritual discernment, sometimes called ""guidance"" or ""knowing God's will,"" is a perennial hot topic among Christians. Its literary history goes back at least four centuries to the Spiritual Exercises of Ignatius of Loyola. Job, a retired United Methodist bishop and the founding director of the Pathways Center of Christian Spirituality, proposes a pattern for ""watching, listening, and reflecting as we seek to discern God's way for us."" Each of the six topical chapters suggests prayers, scripture readings and hymns; each also offers a rich selection of short readings from a broad spectrum of Christian writers, suitable for individual and group reflection. A direct descendant of several books on prayer coauthored by Job (including A Guide to Prayer for Ministers and Other Servants, which has sold 125,000 copies since 1983), this slim volume is intended for daily use over a six-week period and would be especially appropriate for Lent, the 40 days preceding Easter. (Dec.)