Friendship, Listening, and Empathy

A Prayer Guide

De: Lynne Baab

Narrado por: Virtual Voice

Short chapters on friendship, listening skills, and empathy. Each chapter illustrated with beautiful watercolors by Dave Baab.

Many people pray based on their religious experience, perhaps informed by the Bible. Many people seek help with their personal relationships by turning to social science. Friendship, Listening and Empathy: A Prayer Guide does something rare: It tutors readers in how to use scripture, social science research, and personal experience to make their prayers more focused and effectual. Readers of this book will benefit from the depth that Lynne M. Baab’s years of research, writing, and pastoral experience bring to this project.
—Caroline J. Simon (Ph.D.) is provost emeritus of Whitworth University whose books include The Disciplined Heart: Love, Destiny, and Imagination

I can’t think of a better guide to prayer and friendship than the Rev. Dr. Lynne Baab. As she writes in this new book, her “central passion is prayer.” Having learned from her many books over the years, I know that healthy relating between people is also a passion of hers, and Lynne Baab is one of the few communications experts, and also one of the few Christian writers, who offer wise and practical counsel about cultivating friendship with God and with people. Difficult issues we seldom speak about are addressed clearly, without minimizing the reality that not every effort at relating will be satisfying. Dr. Baab attends to the delicate calibration of self-care and care of other, all taking place in the encompassing realm of God’s grace. Great blessing flows to us from this author’s passions and expertise!
—Susan S. Phillips (Ph.D.) is a sociologist and spiritual director whose books include Candlelight: Illuminating the Art of Spiritual Direction and The Cultivated Life: From Ceaseless Striving to Receiving Joy.

Lynne M. Baab (Ph.D. in communication) is the author of numerous books and Bible study guides including The Power of Listening: Building Skills for Mission and Ministry and Sabbath Keeping: Finding Freedom in the Rhythms of Rest. Her website has many articles and blog posts on friendship, listening, empathy, and prayer: lynnebaab.com.

From the Preface:
In 2023, every time I opened a newspaper or magazine, in print or online, I seemed to stumble across an article on friendship or loneliness. Many articles cited research about an increase in isolation following the COVID-19 pandemic. Some articles gave helpful tips for re-engaging in relationships and communities. I wondered if those tips felt overwhelming to people already struggling with loneliness.

At the same time, friends and acquaintance shared their feelings of guilt and sadness because of lost friendships. I wondered how I could help in the areas of friendship and loneliness. After all, I wrote a book on friendship a decade ago, based on interviews with dozens of people. Surely I would have something to contribute, something I could write about in my weekly blog posts.

I realized I wanted to help people pray about their feelings related to friendship and loneliness. I wanted to expose my readers to various listening skills and perspectives on empathy to help them pray more wisely about how to use listening skills and empathy their relationships. I wanted to help people draw near to Jesus for help with friendship skills and actions and to find companionship with the God who walks with us.

I began a new series of blog posts in September 2023. I alternated posts about friendship and loneliness with posts about listening skills. Then, I moved into seven posts about empathy. The posts got a second life as devotionals sent out weekly by my congregation, Bethany Presbyterian Church in Seattle.

This book collects the posts into one place. I’ve organized the posts into three topics: (1) friendship and loneliness, (2) listening skills, and (3) empathy.