The Only Necessary Thing: Living a Prayerful Life

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Summary: Journey to the Core of Prayer & Life
Review: The Only Necessary Thing is not the usual book on how to pray and what makes prayer so important. It is a collection of a man's writings on his passionate believe in the Savior, and therefore, his conversations with Him. It gives a glimpse of how Henri Nouwen himself prayed and what is prayer to him. But never one time in the book does he come across as didactic. Instead, the book weaves together the essence of prayer and life in a contemplative and meditative manner. One can almost chew and "re-chew" through Nouwen's sober, frank and yet deep contemplation on his God and his conversations with Him.

Definitely, the credit of this book must also go to Wendy Greer, who has an excellent grasp of Nouwen's writings, and undoubtedly, her same passion for his God. She has put together Nouwen's best essays and writings in categories and ways that enables one to walk through each day reading snippets of the writings with a sense of continuity as well as of substance to meditate and chew for the day.

The Only Necessary Thing is a journey to the core of prayer, and that prayer is journey to the core of life.