Abiding in Amen
Prayer in a Secular Age
- Prayer & Spiritual Formation
- Publisher: Fortress Press (Augsburg Fortress)
- Published: 2025
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Publisher's Description
In a world obsessed with efficiency and results, where even spiritual practices are often treated as skills to be mastered, Wesley Ellis invites readers into a transformative reimagining of prayer. Abiding in Amen challenges the prevailing assumption that prayer is something to be achieved, offering instead a vision of prayer as a gift to be received. With his characteristic warmth and pastoral insight, Ellis explores the ways in which modern society has conditioned people to seek control--even in their relationship with God. Prayer, rather than being a tool for self-improvement or a task on a spiritual checklist, is a space of divine grace and resonance, where people are invited to relinquish control. He calls for a paradigm shift: from striving to abiding, from anxiety to trust, from results to relationship. Ellis reminds readers that prayer does not begin with human effort but with God's action. Through engaging storytelling, theological depth, and a sense of humor, he encourages readers to release the pressure of performance and enter into a more liberated, authentic communion with God.
Endorsements (3)
“Wes Ellis is one of the great young theologians working within the church and leading a congregation. In this book Ellis lives out this vocation on every page. This book is soaked with a mind and life that lead people into deep theological reflection by teaching them to pray. This is an exciting work.”
“How do we pray when belief itself feels fragile? In a world where certainty has crumbled and prayer often feels like an obsolete relic, Abiding in Amen offers a fresh vision of prayer--not as a means of control, but as an act of radical trust. Drawing on theology, philosophy, and lived experience, Wesley W. Ellis invites readers to rediscover prayer as abiding rather than striving, as resonance rather than performance. With deep pastoral sensitivity and intellectual rigor, this book speaks to those who wrestle with faith in an age of doubt, showing that true prayer is not about mastering techniques but about resting in the unshakable presence of God. This is a deep and encouraging book.”
“Do you know how to pray? In Abiding in Amen, Wes Ellis uses personal stories and his own struggles to remind us that prayer is not something to master or another thing to check off our to-do list, hoping that God is listening. Rather, prayer begins with God as we relinquish control, give up our desperate search for outcomes, and receive the gift of God coming to us. Prayer is a relationship with the Divine where we are called to wait, dwell, and allow the living God to act. Gleaning wisdom from Andrew Root, Harmut Rosa, and Richard Rohr, among others, Ellis uses the image of abiding to describe a relationship with God beyond our control as God comes to us. Abiding in "Amen" will require trust and even perhaps a paradigm shift, moving beyond prayer as a discipline to prayer as relationship. Ellis includes prayer practices at the end of each chapter, inviting individuals or groups to cultivate attentiveness to God. Ultimately, this is a book of hope and good news. A God who so loves the world indeed loves us too, and wants nothing more than to share the love of the living Christ with us.”
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