Prayer is often thought of as a refuge from the world’s troubles, yet Alexander Ryrie (1934–2023) presents it as a way of engaging more deeply with them. In these essays he confronts the fact of the existence of evil and its visible presence in our world. Dealing with suffering, fear, silence, and inaction, he argues that the struggle against evil is not only fought in public events and social structures but also in the depths of each person’s inner life.
Through Scripture, the Desert Fathers, St John of the Cross, and the wider Christian contemplative tradition, Ryrie explores the nature of the passions, the practice of silent prayer, and the relationship between contemplation and action. Prayer is presented not as escape but as participation: a sharing in the world’s pain, a patient standing before God, and a way of opening the heart to transformation. Throughout, these reflections return to themes of vigilance, endurance, honesty before God, and hope amid uncertainty, offering an account of contemplative prayer in the face of personal and collective suffering.