Praying for Your Elephant: Boldly Approaching Jesus with Radical and Audacious Prayer

by Adam Stadtmiller

Get ready to re-ignite, re-imagine, and repurpose your prayer life while experiencing great intimacy with God. This is an invitation to identify your elephants—to name, through specific and strategic prayers, the 100 most important and audacious petitions you can imagine. These are the elephants that—if answered by God—would be game changers in your life and perhaps the world. 

Genres: Christian, Prayer, Nonfiction, Faith, Christian Non Fiction, Religion, Spirituality

240 pages, Paperback

First published October 1, 2014

Reviews

[Joan Eppehimer · Rating 5 out of 5]

Every once in awhile a Christian book comes along that really makes a difference in my life. This was one of them. The title comes from a prayer the author and a friend prayed more on a whim than anything. There was an offer to hire an elephant to bring to your youth group for something like $3000. They thought that would be cool, but didn't seriously entertain the idea. Almost as an afterthought, they asked God to send them an elephant. Sometime later Adam was in Thailand on a mission's trip with his youth group. The last night of the trip one of the kids came in yelling, "There's an elephant in the courtyard." Sure enough, there it was - God did send them an elephant, though not as they planned. From that experience, Adam developed this book on prayer, which challenges us to pray boldly. Yet this is not a "name it and claim it" book by any means. It is thoroughly balanced - and still manages to stretch your prayer relationship with God. One of my favorite quotes from the book is, "The purpose behind asking prayer is not answers, but relationship with the Father." He writes about crafting our prayers,road blocks, transforming prayer, voluminous asking, abiding prayer, aiming our prayers at the target and more. I read this book in conjunction with Adam's 21 day podcast on Praying for Your Elephant. ( https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/p... ) There were a lot of practical ways to apply the book in the podcast. I stretched the podcast out a lot longer than intended and was able to get more out of it. I usually listened right before my prayer time to 1/2 of the podcast, took notes, and then spent time in prayer. This worked really well for me. I developed (and still am) a list of 100 prayer requests in conjunction with the book and podcast. I have been amazed at how many prayers on that list have been answered. I would highly recommend this book to anyone who seriously wants to improve their relationship with God.

[Yella · Rating 5 out of 5]

Eine ganz große Empfehlung!! Dieses Buch handelt vom bittenden Gebet und ermutigt dazu, Gott um alles zu bitten und nicht direkt schon einen Filter einzulegen. Es zeigt so deutlich, was eine der wichtigsten Aspekte des Betens ist: dass wir dadurch Gott besser kennenlernen, ihm immer mehr vertrauen und unsere Beziehung zu ihm tiefer wird.
Was ich am meisten mochte, war, dass ich immer wieder mitten in einem Kapitel das Buch auf die Seite gelegt habe und gebetet habe, weil es mich so sehr ermutigt hat.

[Bethany · Rating 2 out of 5]

I heartily agree with the overall message of this book (asking the Lord for anything—even difficult things like humility—in prayer). However, it was too hidden in many cheesy and unnecessary analogies. The message was great, didn’t like the delivery.

[AlmieMeg · Rating 4 out of 5]

What I gathered from reading this book is that it’s truly about developing a greater relationship with God through prayer and increased knowledge of the scriptures. It’s a well-organized, hope-filled book that neatly interweaves the appropriate scriptures so that the messages are easily understood. The sheer idea of elephant sized prayers gives me a new perspective, particularly in comparison to the amount of faith that we are to have, which is at least the size of a mere mustard seed. Of the many messages in this book there was one that took me aback as being bit contradictory. It’s the discussion of how we should be the answer to our own prayers. I understood the point, and the author has references that give his point credibility. However… up to that point I invested in reading very well written chapters with eye-opening biblical knowledge about learning the importance of prayer… only to then read that I should answer my own prayers? It’s an interesting point of view and the manner in which this concept is justified implies that the author knew this would be a controversial topic. In my humble opinion the idea that we are partners with God puts us on an undeserving elevated level, and speaks more to a lack of faith or trust in God’s willingness to answer prayer. I believe what is missing in this area is more emphasis/explanation on his term “empowering of Jesus Christ”, and the prayer to ask God to use you as an instrument to answer your own prayers. Overall it was well worth the read and it has most definitely changed my prayer life.

[Linden · Rating 4 out of 5]

Book poses an interesting question. If we serve an all powerful God, why are we afraid to ask Him to do tough, seemingly impossible things.

Things I learned:

1. Develop more discipline in prayer
2. Ask for tough things, God is capable
3. Not all prayers will be answered in the way you want (you may get a No or not now answer). One of my elephant prayers came back as a no literally as I hit that section of the book.

[Brian Eshleman · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is at once energizing and sobering, delivered with a narrating voice that is both authentic and grounded in Scripture and doctrine more secure than one's own experience. I found myself, I admit, wanting to caricature the author and the work as greed under the name of prayer to compensate for my own failure to pray bigger, but the author will be down by his gently persistent enthusiasm.

[Olivia Newton · Rating 3 out of 5]

A book that's guaranteed to bring you joy (finished reading April 19, 2016)

[Christy Bower · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book really made me think about prayer in a different way. I’ve experienced disappointment with answered prayers in the past so I stopped asking for anything risky. Praying for Your Elephant is about asking God for anything, no matter how big or small, how altruistic or selfish, or even how likely or absurd it may seem. Rather than censoring ourselves by holding back certain prayer requests we deem inappropriate, author Adam Stadtmiller encourages us to ask for anything and everything. Jesus said we could ask for anything, but we tend to hedge our bets and manage our expectations by asking small. Instead of deciding for ourselves what prayers God will or will not answer, why not ask for anything and everything and let God decide what He wants to do? This review plus additional book quotes first appeared on my blog ChristyBower.com.

[Carter Hemphill · Rating 4 out of 5]

The author does an effective job of convincing the reader that radical and audacious prayer is biblical. He carefully steers from the "name it and claim it" approach to prayer and emphasizes that prayer is about a relationship with God and that inexperience or perceived failures about prayer should not be an obstacle to having a vibrant prayer life. I appreciated also the author's honesty about prayer, that no one is ever an expert with prayer (although many are experienced), and that sometimes we need to recognize that the relationship with Jesus is greater especially if we never achieve our dreams (or 'elephants'). The reason for the four instead of five stars is that the author could have been more action-oriented in providing practical steps for moving beyond identifying one's 'elephants.'

[Victoria · Rating 5 out of 5]

Amazing Book

When I decided to read this book, I was not in a good place spiritually. I was experiencing a hard time praying because of disappointment, and I just couldn’t get myself to pray. I needed help. While reading this book, I placed it down a few times in frustration. Towards the end, I was hooked. I realized that my motives were in the wrong place the whole time. I enjoyed the journey that this book took me on, and I’m sure you will too. You will understand the true reason for praying for your elephants, and seeking God in prayer.

[Sandra Chambers · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the best practice books on prayer!

Very down-to-earth look at prayer --its purposes, its challenges and its ability to change us and our expectations of God. Not a "name it claim" approach, but still a bolder approach to prayer than most of us are willing to take.

[Dennise Gonzalez · Rating 5 out of 5]

Simple answers to deep questions about prayer.

Back to basics: prayer, purpose, relationship with God. Delightfully written, personal, deep and full of Biblical truths. You don’t want to skip this blessing!

[Angela Wimberly · Rating 5 out of 5]

Finished it, then dived right back in

I almost never read books twice, but I broke my own rule this time. Thought I knew a lot about prayer, but turns out I was clueless. This book profoundly changed the way I view my prayer life. I might have to read it once more ...

[Ted Ziegenbusch · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thought provoking, but was hoping for more specificity.

Lots of "inside the head" thoughts. And, it does trigger some interesting possibilities. But, for me, it lacked more concrete guidance and suggestions. Still, an interesting read.

[Jorge · Rating 5 out of 5]

Un disparador de oración que te motiva a confiar en Dios

Este libro nos desafía a relacionarnos con Dios en la oración y a superar las barreras que los cristianos nos ponemos en la oración.

[Nancy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Lots of information and ideas, not all clear to me. Did take some notes. My take-aways:
Is Jesus alone, enough for me?
Move mountains by going to the Mountain that is bigger.
The mission of "asking" prayer is to glorify God, and bear fruit.
Faith is the substance that overcomes doubt.

[Brian Tooley · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a powerful book!! I was blown away by the teaching on prayer. I will now start a prayer journal so I can start praying for my elephants. I went to college with Adam and back in the 90s in PLNC (PLNU) he was on fire for God and I am so proud what God has done in his life.

[Caristy Olson · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's not so much about elephants as it is praying & writing down your prayer requests so that you can see how God uses you & how he answers prayers.

[Emerald Dodge · Rating 5 out of 5]

Any book that gets me back into my prayer life is a good read.

[Sally Andrews · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really good thoughts about approaching God with specific prayer!

[Abby]

I really enjoyed my time spent in prayer as I went through this book.

[Kelley Alsobrook · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was definitely a really eye opening book and gave me more of what I needed for prayer

[Karen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Mr. Stadtmiller said his goal was to get people to pray more, and he was successful in my case. It's not a great book, but it accomplished its task.

[Andrea · Rating 5 out of 5]

Praying for Your Elephants is an easy read with bible-based teaching and personal stories of answered prayers from the author. It encouraged me to be bold and to remover any guilt from my asking prayers. The introduction of the book begins with a prayer challenge that is overwhelming, but exciting. I took the challenge and am beginning to see prayers answered. A must-read if you are looking to up your prayer life!

[Rachel Ramey · Rating 4 out of 5]

This isn't perfect. In particular, I'm not a fan of the frequent use of the Message "translation" (paraphrase) or the author's fairly frequent use of Lincoln as a role model. (Lincoln was not the man we've been led to believe he was, and I'm not sure he was even a Christian -- even by his own estimation.) But for the most part, this is a remarkably balanced book that does a stellar job of emphasizing bold, childlike "asking" prayers with a recognition that God is GOD and not sone heavenly vending machine.

This ability to hold in tension all that Scripture tells us about God's promises and desires to generously bless His children -- for our good and His glory -- with what it tells us about tribulation, suffering, and the sovereignty of God is rare, and much appreciated here. The book is both highly practical and devotionally-challenging.

[Tiffany · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you enjoy your prayer time and find it easy to engage in prayer always, read this book. If you find it a struggle to find words when it's time to pray, and you struggle to make the time -- read this book. This isn't a book that tells you a formula, it's a book that takes away every excuse you try to make about not praying, or not praying effectively. It encourages you to just sit, stand, kneel or go jogging - but whatever you do, pray!!!

I believe this to be a scripturally sound book. Even when my inner uh-oh meter started to light up, the author put me at ease again and I kept reading every time.

[Andrew Rose · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really helpful book on Prayer and making sure we are being audacious in it. Our prayers are a conversation we have with the Lord and if we were having them with anyone else we would be more honest about the things we want, So why do we not tell all to the one person who already knows our hearts desires? This book helps with that and more and I recommend it to anyone needing a kickstart to their prayer life

[Karl Ingersoll · Rating 2 out of 5]

Good Illustration

I don't personally like technique related approaches to prayer. This book is more than that but it is that. I appreciate any book on the subject and there are good gleanings here.

[Shanesa · Rating 5 out of 5]

Inspiring and just what I needed.

[Sandy Bayles · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed it and felt it improved my prayer life and my understanding of how we should pray.