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WHDL - 00014907

A Christian Prayer Labyrinth for Spiritual Formation: Holistic Prayer Practices and Places for Spiritual Healing and Strengthening

Rocco Sansone

William Broadhurst Library at Nazarene Theological Seminary

Resource Types

Academic (Thesis, Dissertation, Etc.)

Resource Languages

English

Institutional Repository

Description / Abstract

Over the past four hundred years, American evangelicalism has often preached a shallow holiness message that failed to migrate the believer from holiness of heart to holiness of life because it has tended to diminish the human role in the sanctified life. This dissertation project proposes a holistic spiritual formation approach based on four classical spiritual stages to prayer and experiencing God. These four classic steps of growth which are purification, mediation, presence, and embodiment, aim to heal the believer’s whole body, mind, spirit, and embodied life, respectively. In addition, this paper also reveals four types of places, desert, cloister, holy mountain, and community, as conducive spaces to exercise the four practices. The practices and places collectively foster ongoing holistic sanctification by aiding one to control passions, renew the mind, infill the spirit, and embody relationships and responsibilities. Next, the paper provides easy access to these places with a newly designed Christian prayer labyrinth as an archetype for these four places to exercise the four spiritual practices. Finally, the dissertation project enables labyrinth users to experience this holistic prayer method by providing a smartphone app with narrated labyrinth prayers and meditative background music for use in public or private settings.