Ordinary Prayer: Encountering God Through Our Everyday Needs

by Jeremy Michael Rios

Everybody struggles with prayer. It is one of the most difficult things we are commanded to do. In fact, if we are not careful, we will allow a host of excuses to keep us from obeying God’s command to pray—that is, to ask Him for things; to pray in petitions. Against this difficulty, Ordinary Prayer is a guide, in plain and accessible language, to discovering both the simplicity and depth of prayer, to uncovering how our ordinary lives and ordinary struggles are the exact places where God is eager to meet us when we pray. So, whether you are a beginner or a longtime struggler with prayer, Ordinary Prayer is a book that seeks to walk alongside you through your ordinary needs into a deeper relationship with God. Includes questions for group study.

174 pages, Paperback

First published January 24, 2013

Reviews

[Jesse · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a book I wish I had read 20 years ago. Although it contained no earth-shaking revelation for me now, it communicates clearly and gently the things I have had to learn the hard way. There was something of John Wimber's clarity and groundedness in the way that the spiritual and theological aspects of prayer were brought into a practically straightforward framework of habitually placing oneself before God, surrendering to Him and learning the sound of His voice.

I gladly and whole-heartedly recommend this book to all who are either coming to prayer as a new spiritual discipline, or have struggled to know why it should become one. With great questions at the end of each section for personal reflection or group study, this is a brilliant guide for how to take steps towards making prayer the joyful communion with God that it is meant to be.

[Ruthe Turner · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have just finished reading “Ordinary Prayer” for the second time. I also took copious notes for my own benefit, and I’ll be reading and referring to the book again and again – it’s that good. It concerns a subject that should be something I had already mastered – praying – just praying ordinary prayers to God. While I confess to being at least one generation older than Rios, I learned so much from this young pastor – the book is full of wonderful, useful information. Because of this book, my prayer life has definitely improved, as well as my relationship with God. For that, it is worth so much more than its weight in gold – which actually, it’s not a large book – only 159 power-packed pages.