Hear My Prayer: Learning from the Faith of Elijah―A 6-Week Bible Study with Video Access

IVP Bible Study Experience

by Elizabeth Ditty

Does prayer matter? What we believe about prayer reflects what we believe about God. Maybe you believe God is all-powerful and wise, but not attentive to your little corner of the world? Fortunately, the Bible tells us a different story. Over and over again, we are reminded that God is both great and good, and that we are cared for and fully known by him. So God welcomes all our prayers and invites us to pray about everything ―to entrust him with all things both big and small, joyful and enraging, and to pray fervently. Whether you consider yourself a prayer warrior or prayer newbie (or even a prayer skeptic), you are invited to join this six-week Bible study experience. Liz Ditty, an experienced spiritual director and retreat leader, invites groups and individuals to experience dozens of ways to pray alone and together. As she engages the story of Elijah and his encounters with God, she guides us toward less awkward, more authentic prayer.

160 pages, Paperback

Published May 14, 2024

Reviews

[Panda Incognito · Rating 4 out of 5]

This Bible study explores the story of Elijah, alongside some other Scripture passages about prayer. Liz Ditty designed this for study groups to use together, but she also suggests modifications for people who are studying alone. The study includes weekly recorded videos that people can access through QR codes, and there are discussion questions, recommended group activities, and daily study assignments for people to do alone before meeting with the group. The Bible study set-up is relatively standard, but it also includes beautiful artwork at the beginning of each week, and many of the reflection exercises include poetry. I appreciate how Ditty designed this study to engage people's senses and emotions, not just their minds, and the range of activities will speak to different learning styles and personalities.

In addition to including reflection prompts after each day's study, the author also includes a few different prayer practices for each week, encouraging people to try out different ways of meditating on spiritual truths and talking to God. She suggests approaches like praying with a prayer partner, praying Scripture, and experiencing moments of silence and contemplation as you listen for God's guidance. She also writes about practices like lament prayers and breath prayers, and one week includes a coloring page of a stained glass window for people to color as they pray about different topics. I appreciate the broad range of suggestions that the author encourages people to try, and I appreciate how she maintains a consistent emphasis on actually praying more, instead of just talking about prayer.

Although I am impressed with this Bible study overall and appreciate its unique elements, I want to mention a few critiques and some considerations for different audiences. One small thing is that I wish that the author had included written links to the videos on her website, instead of only giving QR codes. More significantly, even though this book explores multiple Bible passages in depth, the author does the interpretive work for her readers. She rarely asks interpretive questions, and shares paragraphs of teaching to unpack the meaning of everything. This will be great for some readers, but people who want to grow in their ability to interpret the Bible without someone else's explanation would be better off pursuing a study that teaches and cultivates those skills.

In addition to this, many of the group sessions involve questions and activities that sound more like group therapy than a Bible study. Although intimate personal sharing can be a special part of studying the Bible together, this book brings intimate discussion to the forefront, designing each group session to focus on people's stories, feelings, and experiences. This could work great for some groups, but it will likely blindside people who are expecting a more traditional Bible study. Also, this therapeutic focus might backfire when people don't know each other well, since this kind of transparent discussion is safest and best in contexts where you have already established trust.

This is a deep, encouraging Bible study that includes lots of interactive elements. This book speaks to many different learning styles, and I appreciate the inclusion of artwork, poetry, and a variety of different prayer practices. This book focuses more on the author's teaching over the reader's biblical interpretation, which I found disappointing, but I found this enriching and helpful overall. I would recommend this study for individual use, and for groups that have already established trust for intimate sharing.

I received a free copy from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

[Matthew Bruemmer · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book is mostly a small group guide to the study of prayer focused on the life of Elijah. There are a lot of helpful things in this book and there are things that just didn't really click for me personally.

Positives:
- The actual content around Elijah was well written, theologically interesting, and concise enough to be effective as a study.
- The techniques highlighted were interesting and well developed conceptually to easily be worked individually or with a group.
- This would be a pretty effective entry-level study for a small group.
-It is a very visually stunning book.

Negatives:
- The content when it swings from Elijah feels like a free for all and very unfocused as compared to the Elijah scripture parts.
- This book feels like an ad for her website in some places.
- I am not convinced the author showed me believes theologically about prayer and I think that is important
- The questions, an important part for an effective study, feel really basic and uninteresting, which is a personal opinion and I know some of them could really help others. They just were not for me most of the time.
- Overall, I think there are better books focused on the content of prayer, the life of Elijah, and effectively spurring others in close community to a solid foundation of prayer.

[Michelle Castaneda · Rating 5 out of 5]

Hear My Prayer: Learning from the Faith of Elijah—A 6-Week Bible Study Experience by Liz Ditty is a fantastic resource. I love her focus on Elijah because I learned so much from the way she shifts our focus on other parts of his story. Elijah really comes to life and feels relatable. This is a lovely Bible study for small groups. I like how approachable the lessons feel yet full of invaluable information and wisdom. I received a digital copy of this resource from the publisher with no obligations. These opinions are entirely my own.

[Julia Shelburne · Rating 3 out of 5]

This Bible study delves into prayer based on several Biblical stories and pays special attention to reflecting on one own’s prayer life. I liked the list of spiritual styles and prompts like practicing Lectio Divina. This study is good for a small group looking to assess or expand their praying life.

Thank you NetGalley and InterVarsity Press for this advanced copy. All opinions are my own.

[Engrossed Reader · Rating 4 out of 5]

Review to follow

[Dorina Gilmore-Young · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is such a meaningful study, inviting readers into practices of prayer and the story of Elijah. I really connected with the video teachings. The workbook itself is gorgeous. I appreciated the way Liz challenges us to think about prayer in new ways.