Praying in God's Theater: Meditations on the Book of Revelation

by Joel L. Watts

Much like the book of Revelation, Joel L. Watts' Praying in God's Theater aims to pull readers into a deeper spirituality to confront the daily struggles of Christian life. Drawing from the rich well of Christian mystics and theologians from across the ecumenical experience, Watts uses the Apocalypse to build a series of prayers and devotions aimed at increasing what he identifies as the contemplative unity and the certain unity between the individual and Christ. He urges a radical vision of the prayer and the sacrament of the Eucharist. Each chapter of Revelation is considered, explored, and finally used as a basis to draft prayers. Added to this is an application commentary that explores ancient liturgical practices similar to the scenes in Revelation while looking at Revelation in a mystical manner. Watts offers Revelation as an early liturgy, using this proposition as a catalyst for building prayers and a vision of life based on the Eucharist as the emblem of how we are to approach God. What emerges is a profound view on how we envision Scripture, prayer, and the book of Revelation.

238 pages, Paperback

First published March 10, 2014

Reviews

[JonM · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great book. It's a creative, multi-traditional, richly Scriptural bridge toward neo-mystical (contemplative) prayer. In a handful of places, it made me re-think my own assumptions about the book of Revelation as liturgy. I want to read this book a few more times, especially more intentionally as a devotional. I kind of rushed through it this first time around.

[Robert D. Cornwall · Rating 4 out of 5]

Joel Watts has taken the Book of Revelation -- a text of scripture that seems so obscure and obtuse to many -- and interprets it as liturgy, weaving together the text of Revelation with other biblical texts, ancient liturgies, and his own formulations, together with commentary, to provide us with a new vision of this book. I have long known that the Orthodox Church looks to Revelation for inspiration of its worship, and in this book Joel brings out these emphases for all to see.

Joel is an active blogger -- Unsettled Christianity -- a United Methodist, and a student of scripture and history. It is clear from this book that while he may be United Methodist, his heart and soul are to be found within the Roman Catholic Church, and its antecedents in the ancient church -- especially the liturgies and spiritual writings.

As to how to use this book, Joel sees it as an aid to personal devotion. The prayers themselves, which stretch throughout the book, are written in responsive form -- plain and bold wording. The text is rooted in Revelation, except where noted. He writes: "I have tried to arrange it so John's words are met with similar words or thoughts from other writers of the faith" (p. 7).

If your interests are liturgical or contemplative in nature, I think you will find this an interesting, and even inspiring, read. I should note that the book could use additional copy-editing. There are frequent typos, often the presence of a homonym, such as the word "preyed" instead of "prayed." They might be distracting to some, but they don't really detract from the overall value of the book.