Why Pray?

by Philip Yancey

Trade paperback. Green and white cover.

112 pages, Paperback

Published January 1, 2006

About the author

A native of Atlanta, Georgia, Philip Yancey earned graduate degrees in Communications and English from Wheaton College Graduate School and the University of Chicago. He joined the staff of Campus Life Magazine in 1971, and worked there as Editor and then Publisher. He looks on those years with gratitude, because teenagers are demanding readers, and writing for them taught him a lasting principle: The reader is in control!

In 1978 Philip Yancey became a full-time writer, initially working as a journalist for such varied publications as Reader’s Digest, Publisher’s Weekly, National Wildlife, Christian Century and The Reformed Journal. For several years he contributed a monthly column to Christianity Today magazine, where he also served as Editor at Large.

In 2021 Philip released two new books: A Companion in Crisis and his long-awaited memoir, Where the Light Fell. Other favorites included in his more than twenty-five titles are: Where Is God When It Hurts, The Student Bible, and Disappointment with God. Philip's books have won thirteen Gold Medallion Awards from the Evangelical Christian Publishers Association, have sold more than seventeen million copies, and have been published in over 50 languages. Christian bookstore managers selected The Jesus I Never Knew as the 1996 Book of the Year, and in 1998 What’s So Amazing About Grace? won the same award. His other recent books are Fearfully and Wonderfully: The Marvel of Bearing God’s Image; Vanishing Grace: Bringing Good News to a Deeply Divided World; The Question that Never Goes Away; What Good Is God?; Prayer: Does It Make Any Difference?; Soul Survivor; and Reaching for the Invisible God. In 2009 a daily reader was published, compiled from excerpts of his work: Grace Notes.

The Yanceys lived in downtown Chicago for many years before moving to a very different environment in Colorado. Together they enjoy mountain climbing, skiing, hiking, and all the other delights of the Rocky Mountains.

Visit Philip online:
https://www.philipyancey.com
https://www.facebook.com/PhilipYancey

Catch his monthly blog:
https://bit.ly/PhilipYanceyBlog

Reviews

[Ruth · Rating 5 out of 5]

Every new book I open, arrives at the perfect time. Every word in this book spoke to me personally. How did God know this is exactly what I needed to hear?
Prayer is not just the way we bring our requests to God but it's a place where our hearts change as our focus turns vertical. Philip Yancey writes "prayer is the act of seeing reality from God's point of view." Prayer is realignment.
This book was reassuring in the sense that we are not judged for our prayer life being different as we walk through various seasons of life. Instead, the author is encouraging and states that our love for God may not always show up in the "same way, or a prescribed way, but it will be a way that reflects love." Your prayer life will never look like another's.
In prayer, we may approach God with questions and doubts. Philip writes "we need feel no guilt over such prayers of frustration, for God welcomes them." Just show up. God loves to hear from you.
Praying before bed and every day on my way to work has changed the way I view the whole world.
I have adopted this statement:
"God, show me what you are doing today, and how I can be a part of it.”