A New Spin on Ancient Prayer: Jana Riess

Our guest, Jana Riess, was invited by a colleague to explore and unearth a centuries-old spiritual practice. Along with her co-authors, Patton Dodd and David Van Biema, Riess helped to recover and reimagine a spiritual pathway tucked away on a piece of parchment: an ancient prayer wheel.

In the tradition of lectio divina and walking a labyrinth, The Prayer Wheel simply and directly takes readers into a daily, wholly unique encounter with God. As the prayers in this book unfold, readers will find an appealing guide for contemplation, a way of seeing God in new ways, and an essential new tool for Christian formation.

The Prayer Wheel is a modern interpretation of the Liesborn Prayer Wheel, a beautiful, almost wholly forgotten, scripture-based mode of prayer that was developed in a medieval times. The Liesborn Prayer Wheel resurfaced in 2015 in a small private gallery near New York's Metropolitan Museum of Art. It faithfully and beautifully presents seven prayer paths for personal or group use. Each path invites contemplation on the "big ideas" of the Christian faith--the Lord's Prayer, the Beatitudes, the gifts of the Holy Spirit, and key words from the life of Christ.

Jana Riess is an editor and writer who holds degrees in religion from Wellesley College, Princeton Theological Seminary, and Columbia University. She is a senior columnist for Religion News Service and speaks often to the media about issues pertaining to religion in America.

You can download your own copy of the prayer wheel diagram here.