I know this book was originally published in 1978 but I had never read it so I thought I'd pick it up. I had the opportunity to hear Richard Foster speak at SAU just a few months ago. Shortly after that I signed up for the Master of Spiritual Formation and Leadership program (MSFL) at SAU which Foster helped create. In some ways I was reading this book as a warm up to the program. I figured that it would be one of those books that everyone else had already read and I didn't want to have to catch up.My only regret is that it took me so long to finally pick this volume up. Two sections in the very first pages ("The Slavery of Ingrained Habits" and "The Spiritual Disciplines Open the Door") had immediate and profound impact on me. It was affirming to regularly hear him mention spiritual classics which I have either already read or which I own and plan on reading.
I found the entire chapter on Prayer to be particularly helpful as this has been an area where I have struggled over the past few years. His interpretation of 1 Cor. 3:9 was especially helpful to me. "The apostle Paul gladly announces that we are 'co-laborers with God'; that is, we are working with God to determine the outcome of events."
I also believe everyone would benefit from the reading of the chapter on confession, a discipline often overlooked in my tradition.
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