Praying for Jennifer

by John B. Cobb Jr.

Injured in an automobile accident, Jennifer has been in a coma for three months. When her friends learn that she is near death, they search for a way of coping with the tragedy and finally turn to prayer. Their journey into the nature and mystery of intercessory prayer begins with their first anguished words, "Dear God, please don't let Jennifer die." When Jennifer's condition improves for a time, then stops short of complete recovery, her friends begin to ask What is intercessory prayer? Can we really influence God's actions? Why are some prayers answered and others seemingly ignored? Why does God allow evil to exist in the word? As Jennifer's friends continue their experience with intercessory prayer, they seek counsel from their pastor and others. In the process, they learn to assess different theological viewpoints. Praying for Jennifer is a fictional account centered around students and those to whom they turn for a church education leader, two pastors, a workshop leader, and a teacher. The probing questions the group deals with are common to all who search for an understanding of intercessory prayer.

91 pages, Paperback

First published November 1, 1985

About the author

John Boswell Cobb Jr. was an American theologian, philosopher, and environmentalist. Cobb was regarded as a preeminent scholar in the field of process philosophy and process theology, the school of thought associated with the philosophy of Alfred North Whitehead. He was the author of more than fifty books. In 2014, Cobb was elected to the prestigious American Academy of Arts and Sciences.

Reviews

[John · Rating 4 out of 5]

Having read this book, it is clear that the ideas John Cobb describes in his recent "Jesus' Abba," have been with him a long time. I appreciate the refusal, here, to go with easy answers, to turn prayer into a "power," that just needs quantity in numbers of prayer warriors or the extremes of their effort to succeed, and similar idiocies. I am deeply intrigued by Process Theology ideas about God's power and personality--all of it covered in both books, albeit very briefly. I am more than a little put off by Cobb's resort to quantum physics, PSI, and life forces to explain the power of prayer (when it works, at least!). He tries, in this, to resolve the difficulties we all feel when it comes to prayer by substituting obfuscation and ignorance about other matters as his solution. Still, I feel great empathy for his struggle to explain why prayer works--and why it doesn't (if pragmatic terms are ever the right ones for speaking of prayer). I'd recommend this book . . . and am sorry that after thirty years Cobb hasn't come up with a better answer!

[Christian · Rating 1 out of 5]

I've got to say, one of the worst books I've ever read. I read this book for my church group, finished the book in one night, because it's only 90 pages, and discussed the book with the people from church group. This book was SO confusing because to me it seemed that there were many ideas of why God is not making Jennifer better, and it didn't seem like there was enough time in the book to comprehend what the ideas really meant. When my Reverand asked me questions about the book, I had to say I didn't understand it. The book got me really confused, and I thought the ending was utterly terrible.
While this book wasn't for me, I can understand how somebody would like it. I would suggest this book to people who are very spiritual, but have questions in faith and God. Hopefully for them, this book might answer their questions.