The Science of Prayer by Ernest Wood

In addition to offering solace in times of need, prayer has been used throughout human history to help people tread the often difficult path of spiritual understanding, healing and integration. Although primarily directed at a Christian audience, The Science of Prayer has universal appeal.

Long out of print, this little gem offers both timely and practical guidance on the purpose and practice of prayer, as well as the role of both concentration and meditation in the quest for spiritual unfoldment and inner peace.

Wood studied chemistry, physics and geology at the Manchester Municipal College of Technology. Because of his interest in Buddhism and Yoga, he began studying Sanskrit during his late teen years. He became president of his local Theosophist chapter in 1907 at age 24, then embraced the larger world by moving in 1908 to Adyar, India, the Society's world headquarters.

Shortly after his arrival in India, Wood had begun translating the Indian classics, such as the Garuda Purana. In the late 1920s, he began a thorough study of the Yoga classics with the assistance of several Hindu scholars, leading to the publication of numerous translations of famous yoga texts such as the Bhagavad Gita, Patañjali's Yoga Sutras, and Shankara's Viveka Chudamani. In his commentaries to these translations, Wood tried to make these texts' philosophical ideas applicable to modern life.