Of all the disciplines of the Christian life, prayer is perhaps the most neglected. Yet Jesus brief earthly life was permeated with it. If our Lord made prayer such a priority in word and deed, shouldn't we? A Passion for Prayer seeks to help you develop or deepen your communion with God. Drawing on personal experiences and the reassurances of God's Word, Pastor Tom Elliff shares the principles, challenges and disciplines of prayer.
Valued Gift to Prayer. Packed with Bible references. Must be read more than once along with review of Bible passages and extensive note taking and prayer.
See above. Enjoyed having my heart and mind opened to improved communication with my Heavenly Father. Good supportive examples throughout.
This book has left me searching myself. It dives deep into what your prayer life should be and what it reveals about you. I know Tom personally, so this made many of his stories seem more real and relevant.
I started reading this book in October but put it down when other books came from the Library. This book was written by a man who spent who was deeply steeped in the mission movement. This book made me rethink some of my habits of prayer. The book was informative, Biblically based, and practical. It is a book I will reread.
This book made a lot of excellent points, but I think my favorite one was at the very beginning. That verse in Psalm 95, "Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts...," was illuminated for me in a whole new way. We think, "I will spend time with God at this hour of this day" and "I will pray at this time because it is convenient for me." We forget that when the Holy Spirit calls us into intimate fellowship, THAT is the moment to listen, THAT is the moment to obey; we cannot recreate it ourselves no matter how hard we try. We cannot MAKE him reveal himself and his plans to us at our convenience; we must respond to his call alone. And then, as we keep trying to adjust God to OUR schedule rather than adjusting ours to His, our hearts get harder and harder and we suddenly find ourselves feeling distant from God, not knowing the reason.
I also think of how this applies to salvation. If we do not respond in the moment that the Holy Spirit calls, we are not guaranteed to find the strength or the faith to do so again. If we turn away from him, it will become much more difficult to hear that still small voice calling us the next time. I think of friends who have had miracles in their lives or visions from God and yet have still failed to surrender their lives to him, and who keep struggling with the same old things as a result when Father is offering new life. It reminds me to never, ever harden my heart the moment I hear his voice, but drop everything and just listen.
I enjoyed this book. I appreciated that he took most of his examples from Scripture. I would have liked to seen more of how to pray through certain situations, not just these are situations to pray about in your life.