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Are You Praying for the Wrong Thing?: Learning to Ask What God Wants for You, Not Just What You Want
The Bible tells us to pray continually and without ceasing, but what happens when we're waiting for God but discover He's waiting for us? In his first book, pastor and recording artist Travis Greene guides the reader to apply Biblical truths for a fulfilled life.
Praying and waiting for God to answer can be confusing. When something--or everything--feels stuck because God doesn't seem to be answering our prayers, what next? Pastor and Grammy–nominated recording artist Travis Greene issues a challenge and asks us to examine our prayers--Are we praying for the right thing? Are we planning and preparing for what we've asked for? Are we praying for our will to grow closer to His? Or do we sometimes treat him like a genie in a bottle? Using Biblical examples, Travis invites readers to reconsider our prayers and
navigate beyond feeling trapped to thriving in God’s purposes;learn to use what's left instead of focusing on what was lost;be willing to forgive, wait, and work as God allows; andbelieve in God's miracles while being a faithful steward of what He has already provided.Sometimes what happens next depends on the choices made right now. And sometimes God has something else in mind for us--something we might never have imagined, or in a way we might not have imagined it! It's possible to press forward into a life filled with joy and expectation for the future! Like the widow who used the oil she had at hand, by using what God has already supplied, Travis encourages the readers that they may be closer to enjoying God's promises than they realize. Management can be a magnet for miracles.
Praying and waiting for God to answer can be confusing. When something--or everything--feels stuck because God doesn't seem to be answering our prayers, what next? Pastor and Grammy–nominated recording artist Travis Greene issues a challenge and asks us to examine our prayers--Are we praying for the right thing? Are we planning and preparing for what we've asked for? Are we praying for our will to grow closer to His? Or do we sometimes treat him like a genie in a bottle? Using Biblical examples, Travis invites readers to reconsider our prayers and
navigate beyond feeling trapped to thriving in God’s purposes;learn to use what's left instead of focusing on what was lost;be willing to forgive, wait, and work as God allows; andbelieve in God's miracles while being a faithful steward of what He has already provided.Sometimes what happens next depends on the choices made right now. And sometimes God has something else in mind for us--something we might never have imagined, or in a way we might not have imagined it! It's possible to press forward into a life filled with joy and expectation for the future! Like the widow who used the oil she had at hand, by using what God has already supplied, Travis encourages the readers that they may be closer to enjoying God's promises than they realize. Management can be a magnet for miracles.
- GenresChristian
225 pages, Kindle Edition
Published May 14, 2024
40 people are currently reading
91 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
October 9, 2024
3.5 stars, rounded down.
This book is full of wisdom and encouragement from Travis Greene, a pastor and gospel singer. He shares personal stories about struggles he has experienced and life lessons he has learned, and he takes deep dives into some Bible stories to explore what they teach us about prayer, and what they show us about how God works through people's limitations to accomplish His plans.
This book isn't a "how-to" guide for prayer, but reflects on different attitudes and actions that Christians can take to better align their prayers and their lives with God's will. An anchoring story throughout the book is Greene's experience of feeling discouraged when he found out that God had blessed another pastor with a sudden windfall of money to build a new building, while Greene's own church also needed a new facility. Greene believes that God spoke to him during that time, pointing out that he didn't even have a plan for what to do with the money if he got it. Greene recognized that he needed to put in legwork towards making things happen, because he would otherwise squander blessings by not knowing what he was doing.
Greene shares stories from that period of growth in his church, and from many other times in his life, showing how he has grown in trusting God and trying to pray for himself to follow God's will and fulfill God's plans, instead of just asking God for material blessings. A major theme in this book is that you can pursue good character and do your best to serve God while you wait, regardless whether or not you get the specific blessing that you're praying for. Greene also addresses some side topics along the way, including the importance of forgiveness.
Some of the language and concepts that Greene uses throughout this book are adjacent to the prosperity gospel, but he firmly disagrees with the false teaching that we can do something to cause God to bless us in a particular way, or that if someone doesn't receive the miracle that they're praying for, then that means that they didn't have enough faith. He is honest about how hard life can be, and he shares reflections about his own and other people's disappointments with unanswered prayers.
Parts of this book still concerned me a little, because I know how people can misuse some of these ideas, even though I felt that Greene did a good job of setting up guardrails. Also, I would have liked to see more emphasis on the gospel, over and above the application of Bible-based life principles, no matter how true and helpful they are. However, I appreciate that Greene includes clear statements against the prosperity gospel, and I appreciate his passionate belief in the Holy Spirit's activity and God's desire to grow and bless people.
Overall, Greene's enthusiasm and sincere faith will encourage many readers, and his personable writing style will appeal to a broad readership, regardless whether someone is already familiar with him as a pastor or music artist. I enjoyed this book and found it encouraging.
I received a free copy from the publisher through Amazon Vine, and am voluntarily leaving an honest review.
This book is full of wisdom and encouragement from Travis Greene, a pastor and gospel singer. He shares personal stories about struggles he has experienced and life lessons he has learned, and he takes deep dives into some Bible stories to explore what they teach us about prayer, and what they show us about how God works through people's limitations to accomplish His plans.
This book isn't a "how-to" guide for prayer, but reflects on different attitudes and actions that Christians can take to better align their prayers and their lives with God's will. An anchoring story throughout the book is Greene's experience of feeling discouraged when he found out that God had blessed another pastor with a sudden windfall of money to build a new building, while Greene's own church also needed a new facility. Greene believes that God spoke to him during that time, pointing out that he didn't even have a plan for what to do with the money if he got it. Greene recognized that he needed to put in legwork towards making things happen, because he would otherwise squander blessings by not knowing what he was doing.
Greene shares stories from that period of growth in his church, and from many other times in his life, showing how he has grown in trusting God and trying to pray for himself to follow God's will and fulfill God's plans, instead of just asking God for material blessings. A major theme in this book is that you can pursue good character and do your best to serve God while you wait, regardless whether or not you get the specific blessing that you're praying for. Greene also addresses some side topics along the way, including the importance of forgiveness.
Some of the language and concepts that Greene uses throughout this book are adjacent to the prosperity gospel, but he firmly disagrees with the false teaching that we can do something to cause God to bless us in a particular way, or that if someone doesn't receive the miracle that they're praying for, then that means that they didn't have enough faith. He is honest about how hard life can be, and he shares reflections about his own and other people's disappointments with unanswered prayers.
Parts of this book still concerned me a little, because I know how people can misuse some of these ideas, even though I felt that Greene did a good job of setting up guardrails. Also, I would have liked to see more emphasis on the gospel, over and above the application of Bible-based life principles, no matter how true and helpful they are. However, I appreciate that Greene includes clear statements against the prosperity gospel, and I appreciate his passionate belief in the Holy Spirit's activity and God's desire to grow and bless people.
Overall, Greene's enthusiasm and sincere faith will encourage many readers, and his personable writing style will appeal to a broad readership, regardless whether someone is already familiar with him as a pastor or music artist. I enjoyed this book and found it encouraging.
I received a free copy from the publisher through Amazon Vine, and am voluntarily leaving an honest review.
August 13, 2024
There were so many reasons to pause and revisit the foundations of my faith while reading this. This has been added to my annual reading list because it's now a spiritual essential to help me keep prayer, plans and visions in CONTEXT.
Big blessings in this book were:
- Scripture references and theological context so the root, truth and function of certain principles could be interrogated
- Reframing what is known as prosperity gospel to an attainable, biblically-anchored and character-tuning experience
- Dissecting the WHAT that is required before and after prayer that helps to tame the ego (sometimes fed through prosperity gospel), move the feet (again, character-tuning) and deepen our understanding of God (the story of the tradesman working with his son was immensely clarifying)
- Travis' candour and vulnerability in exploring his failings, hypocrisy and discomfort on his faith-journey to show how he was reshaped through prayer, patience and principled work.
In short - I wasn't preached at but I was certainly ministered to.
Big blessings in this book were:
- Scripture references and theological context so the root, truth and function of certain principles could be interrogated
- Reframing what is known as prosperity gospel to an attainable, biblically-anchored and character-tuning experience
- Dissecting the WHAT that is required before and after prayer that helps to tame the ego (sometimes fed through prosperity gospel), move the feet (again, character-tuning) and deepen our understanding of God (the story of the tradesman working with his son was immensely clarifying)
- Travis' candour and vulnerability in exploring his failings, hypocrisy and discomfort on his faith-journey to show how he was reshaped through prayer, patience and principled work.
In short - I wasn't preached at but I was certainly ministered to.
May 15, 2025
Travis Greene’s book came into my life at just the right moment. It completely reshaped how I view and approach prayer. Through powerful personal stories and eye-opening biblical insights, Greene offers practical, relatable guidance on how to pray effectively—and how not to. His transparency and wisdom made complex truths simple and accessible. I walked away not only more informed, but spiritually refreshed. Highly recommended for anyone seeking a deeper, more authentic prayer life.
May 30, 2024
This opens a new perspective on your prayer life. And I thought I was doing something with the way I was praying and after listening to this book I have found that I am not even close to power of prayer and I know I have been praying the wrong way. This will be on repeat for a long time. Just to listen to the message that it has. Great work.
January 3, 2025
A lot of autobiography woven into this one. Thoroughly enjoyed it. (Audiobook)
July 10, 2025
It has changed how I think of my prayer life and how to change your prayer and perspectives , also hearing about his journey was insightful!
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews