A Posture of Inward Prayer

Book Review: Madame Jeanne Guyon: Her Autobiography (Condensed and Modernized by Jan Johnson)

Have you ever had ​“one of those days”? Today, I had lunch with a close friend who was visibly shaken and struggling to keep herself together. In just a few short early morning hours she learned: That a friend had been diagnosed with a rare, invasive cancer, that her son’s friend had attempted suicide the night before, and that a hostile takeover situation was occurring at her place of employment, threatening her — and her co-workers’ — livelihoods. All this was weighing heavy in her heart and mind, and peace was nowhere to be found.

Madame Jeanne Guyon (1648−1717) had a lifetime of ​“one of those days.” For years she suffered from various forms of physical pain, mental and emotional anguish, oppression, and persecution. Yet somehow, even in the midst of her grief and pain, she was able to experience a peace. She had a piece of heaven on earth that many of us may never understand or know, and she said it was because of Inward Prayer. Madame Guyon writes, ​“Oh, my God, if people understood the great value to the soul from conversing with Thee, everyone would be diligent in it. Children are told to attain heaven and avoid hell, yet they are not taught the shortest and easiest way of arriving at it — inward prayer.

In her introduction to this condensed and modernized version of Madame Guyon’s autobiography, Jan Johnson writes:

As I edited her words, I saw myself change. It is easier to accept what I didn’t like in life. I was more willing to wait and watch for God. I experimented more with letting go. I even thanked God for a terrible headache one day which dulled my thinking so much that I didn’t return the anger of a loved one.

So I recommend this story to you especially if you’re in the middle of enduring an impossible situation. God may use it to help you see His hand at work even in the smallest things, even turning other’s evil for your good.

Read this modern version of one of the most influential Christian women’s life journey, and open your head and heart to receive the hope that comes from experiencing a with-God life through a posture of inward prayer.