Pray with Your Eyes Open: Looking at God, Ourselves, and our Prayers

by Richard L. Pratt Jr.

Richard Pratt knows the burdens many of us carry because of inadequate prayer lives. He offers clear biblical direction on how to pray more effectively. Pratt tackles head-on the issues that can puzzle us the most. With care and balance he discusses key from fascination with God to honest confession of our deepest needs, from concerns over form and freedom in prayer to questions about body language and fasting. Discussion questions, practical exercises, and assignments with each chapter help to make this book ideal for adult study groups, as well as individual use.

Genres: Prayer, Theology, Christian, Christian Living, Spirituality, Religion, Christianity

208 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1987

Reviews

[Peter Jones · Rating 4 out of 5]

I am constantly on the look out for books to help me pray better. Pratt's treatment is an excellent addition to my library. He is not overly profound. Nor is the book written with flair. But his treatment of prayer is solid and helpful.

Here are the parts I enjoyed most. First, he makes extensive use of the Psalms. Any book on prayer that does not do this is a failure. Second, he encourages the reader to linger over their prayers. Instead of just saying, "Thank you Lord that you are holy." He encourages us to unfold what this holiness looks like using examples from the Scriptures. Perhaps the most important way this book impacted me was by helping me spend more time praying through a specific idea or request instead of the usual bullet point prayers. Third, he has good discussion of fixed forms in prayer. That section wasn't perfect, but it was helpful and more balanced than many. Finally, he encourages the reader to give God reasons why he should answer our prayers. He shows the Psalms and other prayers in the Bible use this pattern. Abraham did not just ask God to spare Sodom and Gomorrah. He gave reasons why He should do so. Moses did the same thing. We often feel guilty doing this.

Overall, a good, practical book on how to grow in prayer.

[Bob Mendelsohn · Rating 3 out of 5]

The book was written and published in 1987. Some of the illustrations were from 30 years before that, so the book had an 'old' look to it. Not old like historic or classic, but tired. Still, that wasn't what gave me an average review. I found the lack of resolve in Pratt at times accommodation and at times without commitment. I refer to things like 'form' in prayer and praying out of a prayer book, which I almost always find meaningful and more honest than 'spontaneous' prayer which is almost always repetitive. Pratt seemed to acknowledge that this could work at times, but not always. Whatever he said to 'allow' this was weak.

He appeared to leave no room for prophetic/ Spirit-filled expression of charismatic Christianity and that's just not on.

But all that said, the good information from the Psalms was excellent. Feelings, honest feelings, mixed with faith --- that's real prayer. And he nailed that.

[Amanda · Rating 5 out of 5]

I picked this book from my Granddaddy’s shelf after he died—noticing a heartfelt inscription from the author inked on the inside cover. Two years later, I grabbed it from my bedside stack because our small group’s current book about prayer felt mainstream and shallow to me.

Though I laughed at the simple 80’s silhouette-style illustrations—they were helpful. The writing style is so clear—heavily supported with pure scripture and stories from Dr. Pratt’s life. I am more intrigued by God as I practice praying more intentionally: the mind engages the heart! And vice-versa.

The question section and weekly challenges give opportunity for practicing prayer in ways that are interesting instead of guilt inducing.

Before finishing this book, I was able to hear Dr. Pratt speak at a local mission’s conference. He signed the book under his note to Granddad: “Amanda, May the heritage of your grandfather live in you.”

Amen to that!

[Joel · Rating 2 out of 5]

A pretty thorough look at prayer, from how we look at God, to how to pray as we find ourselves in different circumstances, to specific means of communication in prayer (expressing gratitude/petitions and even to form and body position). Just as a side note, Pratt uses images in his books, little visual aids to help explain his points. I'm not a big fan, but they are there if you're a visual learner.

[Nicole · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved this book. 4.5 Stars It gave biblical, practical ways to improve one's prayer life. The author encourages the reader to read one chapter a week, and implement the suggestions for prayer from that particular chapter during that week. He gives a rough layout to do so as well as review questions. I think this is a great tool to help teach older children how to pray (hoping to do this when our kids are a little older!). This was invaluable for myself as well and I have many notes to refer back to especially for the times when I am struggling to pray. I especially loved chapter 10 about Form and Freedom in Prayer and Ch. 13: More Than Words. Would be a great book to do as a group study!

[Caleb Blevins · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this book in preparation for a class I am helping teach at my church. This book was an encouragement and also a motivator to grow and practice prayer in new personal ways. I appreciated Pratt’s passion for referring to God but different titles, praying His various attributes and altogether call for us to pray with adoration of the triune God.

[Dale · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is a decent option for an intro to prayer. It covers a vary wide range of aspects to prayer. It is simple and straightforward. I was getting a bit bored at several points but I think for an entry to prayer it would be a good recommendation. It also has application questions at the end of each chapter which I think is nice.

[Gage Jordan · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is one of the best books on prayer that I’ve read. Not overly technical but provided a lot of helpful information. Easy read with discussion questions in each chapter. Appendix in the back for help and the last chapter gives you helpful ways to do private and corporate prayer.

[Ryan Kiser · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was okay, neither great or horrible.

[Bryan Neuschwander · Rating 3 out of 5]

Pretty practical, though a bit dated. It is always wonderful when a book on prayer actually inspires prayer.

[Mike · Rating 5 out of 5]

Lots of solid, Godly wisdom about prayer here. Really great at helping us evaluate how we pray, including actually putting the principles of the book into practice in prayer.

[Maria Mcclain · Rating 5 out of 5]

An older book, but I was pleasantly surprised by the honest simplicity. Great biblical insight for prayer. I will refer to this again.

[Wade · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm really enjoying the appendices on the names and attributes of God, specifically as guides for prayer.

[Ryan Hawkins · Rating 4 out of 5]

Pratt argues that there are three essentials to prayer: God, the believer, and communication. The book is then organized this way.

It is a good book. It explores these aspects of prayer well. He had some really helpful practical insights, especially in his last major section on the communication. He talked about things I have never thought about before, such as making a case with your petitions, and having stories of gratitude rather than just saying thank you. He also talked about practically addressing God by different titles, descriptions, and metaphors for the sake of more diverse and wonder-filled prayers. This was all great.

But overall, the book simply felt like a systematic outline of prayer. He focused so much on the psalms, which was good, but he probably over-focused on them and also neglected other biblical passages. As a result, although it felt like a systematic outline of prayer, it was by no means a close to exhaustive systematic review of prayer. Rather, it was a very organized description of prayer centered around his description of prayer consisting of God, the believer, and communication.

A good read, but doesn't inspire to prayer like other books such as Ravenhill's "Why Revival Tarries".

[Matthew · Rating 3 out of 5]

I generally dislike practical books. I don't know why. This book was pretty good though. I thought the best chapter was the first which was looking at God during prayer. Reminding ourselves of God's character leads us to worship and opens us up to praying for things that we might normally neglect.

For me, the illustrations in the book should be removed.

[Sean · Rating 4 out of 5]

A foundational treatment of prayer. Saturated with the Scriptures, yet sensitively written. I will go back to this one many times.

[Brian Whited · Rating 4 out of 5]

A practical and easy read on the subject of prayer.

[Lori · Rating 4 out of 5]

Re-read this for a project I'm working on. Loved the book, but I'm so shallow I can't get over the 1960's style illustrations.

[Matthew Hodge · Rating 4 out of 5]

A bit academic in tone but a great comprehensive guide to prayer and an encouragement to work at it.

[Lance Huffman · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very practical but spiritually satisfying guide to prayer. For the person who isn't sure what to say to the Almighty more than half the time.

[Susan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Simply worded and based on the Psalms. Aside from dated and unnecessary diagrams, the book is solid and worthwhile.

[Wassenario · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's good to just get back to the basics sometime. I can see why this is a classic on prayer.

[Mark Gring · Rating 3 out of 5]

This work has some good ideas on prayer--the main emphasis seems to be about trying a variety of things--within orthodox parameters--to keep prayer fresh and authentic.
The illustrations in the book are outdated and distracting. The writing tends to be stilted, impersonal (despite the personal illustrations), and distant. The chapter I have found most helpful is chapter 12 on praying as a form of respectful argument to God.