Prayer & Temperament: Different Prayer Forms for Different Personality Types

The Myers-Briggs Type Indicator is a tool that is used to help corporate teams work more efficiently and dating services match more effectively and much in-between. But can it be applied to personal spirituality? Monsignor Chester Michael believed MBTI opened new possibilities through needed self-awareness. With a foundation in the work of Carl Jung and Pierre Teilhard de Chardin, among others, Father Michael began exploring the connection between personality and styles of prayer.

In 1982, with his assistant Marie Norrisey, they launched an ambitious project, which involved some 400 individuals, to see if different temperaments resonated with distinct approaches to prayer. Their discoveries, and the enthusiastic response of the project's participants, motivated them to publish their findings.

For 30 years, their guidance on coming to prayer in an approach that aligns with individual temperaments has been the basis for numerous workshops and retreats and in spiritual direction of individuals. It has helped thousands, including those who may describe praying as difficult, dry, or rote. As a result, the board of the Open Door, which Father Michael founded before his death, offers a revised edition of the original work. The audience remains the same as it was when the book was published in 1991: anyone who seeks to deepen their spirituality, self-awareness, and relationship with God.