Date of Award

11-2014

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Ministry (DMin)

Department

Seminary

First Advisor

Derek Voorhees

Second Advisor

David McDonald

Third Advisor

John Bergquist

Abstract

But Jesus often withdrew to the lonely places and prayed. Luke 5:16

When God-followers feel distant and disconnected, they often describe their experience as a “lonely place.” The feeling of being distanced from God is exacerbated by a lack of knowledge on how to resolve the distance. Retreats and resources might help one reconnect with God; however, the means for connection is often housed in the deep recesses of books or is hidden in the teachings of spiritual sages far away on desert retreats. Simple classic prayer practices remain largely unknown in evangelical circles as a result of inaccessibility, unfamiliarity, inexperience and lack of understanding by congregational leaders. Furthermore, failure of leadership is another obstacle for Godfollowers experiencing the lonely place. This dissertation sets forth the foundational argument that spiritual practices or prayer forms were accessible post prayer retreat, fewer people might experience loneliness and feeling of distance from God in their daily lives. A solution has been found to overcome the twofold problem of God-followers experiencing distance from God and ignorance on how to fix the problem of disconnection. What if, after one experiences a prayer retreat, a simple, downloadable solution was made available by utilizing a smart-phone, tablet, mobile device, or computer via an application to draw closer to God? This project’s focus is to explore ways God-followers attempt to reconnect with God through the spiritual practices, and to create a new means by which prayer practitioners can be equipped with concise instructions for seven different classic prayer practices via an App-lication.

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