Cecil Murphey shares the personal story of his journey out of spiritual darkness in this book that offers comfort and encouragement for those times when God seems so absent from our lives.

From the very beginning of the church, Christians have found it helpful to pause for prayer during various times of the day. Whether for morning or evening devotions or other fixed-time prayers, such spiritual respites were deemed essential to worshiping God. Over the years, Christians developed a structure for such moments of worship, keyed to the time of day and season of the year. Part of its genius was the seamless integration of Scripture and prayer. This ancient practice, called the "Daily Office," has experienced a resurgence of use in our time. "Seeking God's Face" is a user-friendly approach to this form of prayer and devotion. Each office includes a psalm of praise, a passage of Scripture, and a brief set of prayers. An introduction to prayer-book use from Eugene Peterson is included to acclimate readers to this form. This edition features 11.5 point type that makes for comfortable reading without straining.

This new series brings together a number of great academic works from the archives of Oxford University Press. Reissued in a uniform series design in Spring 2000, Oxford Scholarly classics will enable libraries, scholars, and students to gain fresh access to some of the finest scholarship of the last century.

Every devoted Christian experiences periods of time when God seems far away, when the light of his face seems to have turned away and left his child to fumble in the darkness. During periods of spiritual blackout, when God seems to be silent, we feel as if we've been put on hold. We wait and wait for God to get back on the line. We know it will be wonderful when the light comes back on and drives away the darkness, but we want it now--not later. Award-winning writer Cecil Murphey has journeyed through this darkness three different times during his many years following Christ, and each time was more difficult than the last. He suggests that believers have three choices when the lights go out: (1) give up, (2) examine ourselves for sin or failure, or (3) accept that God's face is hidden with his purpose in mind. In When God Turned Off the Lights, readers will learn how to make the most of their time on hold by pondering the mysteries of God's character, confident that he will turn the lights on once again.

Thomas turns to the classic writings of well-known Christians to offer a program for rediscovering an authentic Christian spirituality that applies to everyday life's frustrations, problems, and even joys. "Many will be grateful for the forceful sensitivity of this survey of classical insights into our fellowship with God".--J.I. Packer.

Is it possible to find God beyond the distorted images and empty words? Can we even speak about God at all? The author claims that it is more important than ever to look for a truer image of God. A person who seeks God's face will be compelled, at the same time, to seek his or her own face. Conversely, those seeking to find themselves are often compelled to search for God. The book describes faith as a spacious landscape in which one can breathe freely and engages the rich imagery of the Bible to help the individual breathe freely and find orientation without feeling imprisoned. "This openness and freedom are to be found in the Gospel itself," says the author. "They were lived by the Master himself, who portrayed the face of God by meeting human beings where they actually were-not where they ought to have been." +