Enjoy Your Prayer Life

Union

by Michael Reeves

Sadly, most of us struggle to set aside time to pray. But, fear not, this is not another book that will pile on the guilt, simply saying pray better and more often. Instead, Michael Reeves shows us not only why prayer is so essential, but also how we can enjoy it too.

Taking his cue from Calvin’s definition that prayer is ‘the chief exercise of faith,’ Reeves helps us understand that prayer should be a natural expression of our faith. Just as faith is awakened as we grasp the wonders of the gospel, so prayer follows as our hearts respond to these glorious truths.

Enjoy your prayer life is a delightful read; and as you turn the pages, it’ll show you that prayer doesn’t have to be a duty to be performed, but is rather a gift to be enjoyed.

Genres: Prayer, Christian, Theology, Christian Living, Nonfiction, Christianity, Faith

36 pages, Kindle Edition

First published March 10, 2014

About the author

Michael Reeves (PhD, King's College, London) is President and Professor of Theology at Union School of Theology in the UK (www.ust.ac.uk). He is Director of the European Theologians Network, and speaks and teaches regularly worldwide. Previously he has been Head of Theology for the Universities and Colleges Christian Fellowship and an associate minister at All Souls Church, Langham Place, London.

Reviews

[Ben Sylvester · Rating 5 out of 5]

Such a short book, yet very good. Might be a top 3 book on prayer. It’s also so short that you could store it on top of your toilet, so each time you go to take a dump, you can read and remind yourself of the great truths about prayer. I would estimate that you would read the whole book after three dumps if you stood by this tactic, in terms of storing it on top of your toilet. Swell book.

[Gabriela Bevenuto · Rating 5 out of 5]

Usei esse livro como devocional, lendo um capítulo por dia. Foram 14 dias conhecendo mais do próprio Deus. Poderia dizer que o mais interessante desse livro é que ele é totalmente focado na Trindade! Recomendo!

[Elizabeth Santelmann · Rating 5 out of 5]

I’ve always struggled with my prayer life. Making it a “to-do” item that I either do or do not check off.

I love how short and simple this book is. Putting emphasis on what it should be, but not in an overwhelming way.
It brings prayer back to basics.

[Bill Forgeard · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this! Reeves' tiny book has fuelled my morning prayer times over the last month or so, reading one section (a few pages only) each morning. This is a great example of an accomplished theologian harvesting the fruit of his labours in brief, practical, powerful, devotional reflections. The heartbeat of the book is Reeves' profound grasp of the Trinity, and the way we join in those relationships through prayer.

[Frank · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great little book! My only critique: it is too short!

[Mamie Sessions · Rating 5 out of 5]

Short, sweet, and so encouraging. Needed this

[Daniel Piva · Rating 5 out of 5]

Para um livro de 40 páginas, o tema foi tratado magistralmente.
Digo isso pois com poucas palavras, Reeves vai direto ao ponto tanto em termos expositivos do tema, como quanto aos aspectos aplicativos.
É ao mesmo tempo uma espécie de Check-List, sem ser legalista, e também com as respostas para a cura do mal de uma oração vazia, ou mesmo da falta de oração.
Recomendo para devocional pessoal, aconselhamento (como base para crescimento), discipulados breves, e também Teologia Aplicada.

[Tom Sussex · Rating 5 out of 5]

Honest helpful advice on praying, delivered in micro chapters that make blitzing through this book as easy as eating a sandwich. Nice one Mikey.

[Nathan Webb · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a great tiny book on the communal aspect of prayer. It was very Trinitarian in showing how each person of the Trinity supports us in prayer. The book also was very to the point about how prayer is about depending on God and communing with God. Reeves defined prayer as “enjoying and pleading for the friendship and friendly assistance of God.” He painted a good picture of why we ought to pray and how we can be more motivated to pray through viewing prayer as not something we “do” but communing with the Father. It’s a biblical and helpful approach, but the book lacked practicality.

I would give this book to someone who’s struggling to see God as Father and not just Judge, which could be their reason for lack of prayer, but besides helping with the motivation of God as Father in prayer, it wasn’t very practical for tangible growth in prayer.

[Emma Greene · Rating 5 out of 5]

Short, easy read, impactful. Good reminder that prayer shows our faith and dependence on God and is meant to be enjoyable and naturally flow out.

[Brian Parks · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very encouraging and inspiring! Great little book to reinvigorate your prayer life written with the characteristic charm and warmth of Reeves.

[Timo Cunha · Rating 5 out of 5]

A oração é o principal exercício de fé. Porque você não ora?

[Fearghal Kelly · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is not another book of tips to 'get your prayer life sorted' or telling you why you 'really really ought to pray more'. This tiny book - which took me a couple of short train journeys to read - will lift your eyes off of yourself, onto the relationship with the Father that Jesus has brought us into, and will get you excited for prayer. No guilt-tripping, only grace!

'Enjoy Your Prayer Life' isn't so much a book on how to pray, but on what prayer is and why it's a vital part of the Christian life. The premise is based on John Calvin's thought that 'prayer is the chief exercise of faith'. This is a challenge as our prayer life acts as an indicator of our faith, but Mike Reeves reassures us that the fact that we're all sinners is the whole point of the Gospel! He then works in depth to get our focus right and show us that our prayer life is the natural outworking of our relationship with God that we have by grace - through the Son we are brought into communion with the Father by the Spirit. The short pages are filled with liberating, chain-breaking and refreshing truths that will make prayer a joy, not a mere duty.

If you're not the kind of person who goes to prayer seminars or reads books on prayer, this is for you. If you struggle with prayer, this is for you. If you've read every book on prayer imaginable, this is also for you.

[Eli Jones · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thank you Jackson for letting me borrow. This feels like cheating for my book goal because it was 39 pages.

Lots of thinking to do about my prayer life! Love the bit about viewing prayer not as an activity but rather something that flows naturally because of growing communion with Christ. Good reminder to be honest and humble myself before The Lord in prayer and not view prayer as another thing I can be a perfectionist at.

[John Brackbill · Rating 4 out of 5]

This 46 page booklet on prayer is a great resource to hand out to folks on prayer. It can be summarized with this phrase: "Prayer is not an abstract activity; it is the chief exercise of faith." (43)

My son recently asked for a book on prayer and I am going to give this one to him first as a good starter.

[Jelena Hristov · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved how Michael Reeves described the fact that we can enjoy our prayer life and not see it as some kind of rite nor obligation but rather something to enjoy every day when we meet with God on daily basis. It was easy to read and enjoyable to study this little book.

[Blake Patterson · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good book that gives encouragement in praying. I was most helped by his logic that prayer needs fuel from faith and faith is fueled by the Word and the gospel.

[Troy Solava · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am learning that one of the greatest skills is writing a short book that helpful, theological, and accessible. Reeves does this well!! This book is 40 short pages.

I will be buying copies and passing these out to the church. The chapter on praying to the father was extraordinary! Reeves in his classic trinitarian delight teaches us that when we pray, we are praying “as if it were through Jesus mouth” and are brought into the enjoyment of the triune God. Powerful and beautiful.

[Caleb Batchelor · Rating 4 out of 5]

Who doesn’t need a little Mike Reeves to jolt their prayer muscles?

[Cierra Baird · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is not going to give you practical tips or tricks to pray more but it is going to help you diagnose why you may not pray as much as you should. I enjoyed it and appreciated that reeves didn’t make it long just for the sake of being long. It is a short read but super powerful!

[Joel Rasmussen · Rating 5 out of 5]

The statement that struck me most in this book went something like this.
The more mature we become as a Christian, the more we realise we need to rely on God - and this is awesome.
The members of the Trinity are in a constant perfect relationship, constant communication. If we want to imitate Christ we too need to strive for this. This adds another awesome dimension when I think of prayer.
This moved me and helped to continue to crush my silly ideas of individualism, renewed my joy of being saved into the Church and the body of Christ.
I really liked this book

[Stuart Turton · Rating 4 out of 5]

I am becoming a big fan of these 'book-lets' that 10ofthose publishing are bringing out more and more frequently. Whether as adapted sermons or floating chapters that form part of a series (like this one), they make for perfect train-ride reading, reflection and re-reading.

Considering the fact that this book is only 48 pages in A5 sizing (46 if you don't count the cheeky 2 page adverts at the end), I will keep this review extremely brief. Reeves starts by locating prayer, not on the fridge 'to-do list', but at the very centre of a Christian's life. [Enter Calvin: Prayer is 'the chief exercise of faith']. Reeves follows the 'faith' thread back to the Word of God, the Gospel and the Triune life of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. His central point is that prayer is the knee-jerk activity of enjoying the father-son communion that the gospel establishes, and which faith initiates.

This is a great resource to help you enjoy prayer for what it is. Buy it in bulk and give it away to people in your church, or anyone who likes free books (who doesn't like free books?).

[Jason · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent! 14 short readings.

Trinitarian. Prayer is “exercising belief that the Almighty is my willing and kind Father, and accepting me in the Son, he wants to hear me and bless me.” The Son as our High Priest “is filled with brotherly affection for us. Having been tempted himself, he doesn’t despise us for being tempted but has compassion and wants to help. The Son gives us the right to come boldly in his name as accepted children. Then our Father and the Son give us their Spirit precisely to help us enjoy what it is to be children, that is to enjoy the loving, outgoing life of this God” (43-44).

[ValeReads Kyriosity · Rating 5 out of 5]

Reeves starts out by distinguishing between the mechanics of prayer, about which some perfectly fine advice may be given (use an app, set the alarm earlier, etc.), and the heart of prayer, a trusting relationship with a loving Father. And the rest of the book is about the latter. Very encouraging!

[Maxime N. Georgel · Rating 4 out of 5]

A partir de la définition de la prière que nous livre Jean Calvin selon laquelle la prière est le principal exercice de la foi, Michael Reeves veut encourager son lecteur à savourer la prière et le défaire des mauvaises compréhensions que l'on a d'elle.

# Chapitre 1 : Introduction - La prière, ce problème
Ce chapitre sert d'introduction au propos. Reeves nous explique que le manque de santé de l'Église est directement corrélé au manque de prière. Sans prière, tout notre service est une coquille vide.

# Chapitre 2 : Définition de la prière
On peut prier d'une mauvaise façon, il convient donc de comprendre ce qu'est la prière. La meilleure définition est celle de Jean Calvin : *la prière est le principal exercice de la foi*.

# Chapitre 3 : Au secours !
Si la prière est le principal exercice de la foi, alors
1. Notre manque de prière est le reflet de notre incrédulité
2. Il n'est pas étonnant dès lors que nous ayons du mal à prier, étant par (seconde) nature incrédules
3. Le diable, la chair et le monde se liguent contre notre vie de prière tout comme ils se liguent contre notre foi. (Cf. *Tactiques du diable* et l'homme distrait par la faim lorsqu'il veut prier !)

# Chapitre 4 : Tous pécheurs
Un chapitre qui vient renverser les idées que l'on se fait sur les "hommes de prière" comme Martin Luther en apportant une citation d'une de ses lettres à Mélanchton où celui-ci se plaint de sa froideur spirituelle et de son manque de prière.

# Chapitre 5 : L'Ecriture et la prière
1. Prémisse mineure : La prière est le principal exercice de la foi (Jean Calvin)
2. Prémisse majeure : La foi vient de la Parole de Christ (Paul)
3. Conclusion : La prière provient de la Parole (cf. conseils de George Müller et tant d'autres !)

Si nous réfléchissons au chant d'assemblée comme une forme de prière public, le propos de Reeves peut être utilisé pour défendre la psalmodie et la mise en chant des paroles de l'Ecriture.

# Chapitre 6 : Prier comme Jésus
La prière, c'est savourer à notre niveau la relation éternelle que le Fils a avec le Père.

# Chapitre 7 : Prier le Père
Prier, c'est appeler Dieu Père, c'est se confier en ses soins paternels.

# Chapitre 8 : Prier en tout temps
Comment prier en tout temps ?
1. La prière doit être mêlée à notre journée et non pas conçue comme une activité à faire en plus sur notre emploi du temps.
2. Il est nécessaire de prendre des temps de prière pour pouvoir vivre ce qui est décrit au point 1.

Comment grandir dans la prière ?
1. Prémisse mineure : La prière est le principal exercice de la foi,
2. Prémisse majeure : La foi étant comme un oeil, elle ne grandit pas lorsqu'on la regarde mais lorsqu'elle fixe son objet. La meilleure manière de ne rien voir est d'essayer de regarder son oeil.
3. Conclusion : De même, nous ne prions pas mieux en songeant à la prière et en se répétant que l'on doit être concentré mais en entrecoupant nos requêtes de méditations sur la personne de Dieu, de louanges à son égard, de rappel de ce qu'il est, ce qu'il a fait et ce qu'il a promis (cf. Petit catéchisme de la définition de la prière), à la manière des Psaumes.

# Chapitre 9 : Prier, c'est dépendre de Dieu comme le Fils dépend du Père
Doute sur l'orthodoxie trinitaire de ce qui est dit ici. Vrai dans la mesure où Jésus est homme et par analogie avec l'engendrement

# Chapitre 10 : le rôle de l'Esprit
L'Esprit intercède pour nous. Il faut donc être honnête sur notre faiblesse dans la prière car l'Esprit est là pour oeuvrer en nous. C'est par lui que nous pouvons dire Abba Père.

# Chapitre 11 : L'Esprit nous façonnne à l'image du Christ dans la prière
Christ a un ministère de prêtre et d'intercesseur. Tout son ministère est dans la médiation. Par la prière, nous sommes faits à l'image de ce grand intercesseur.

# Chapitre 12 : L'Esprit nous réunit
Chapitre sur l'aspect communautaire de la prière. "La prière en groupe est donc un résumé de la vie chrétienne : la famille du Père se rassemblant autour de lui pour partager ses préoccupations."

# Chapitre 13 : Jouir de la vie de Dieu
Chapitre-résumé du propos des précédents. En toutes ces choses, nous voyons que la prière est une participation à la vie trinitaire, la vie de Dieu.

# Chapitre 14 : Alors prions !
Dernière exhortation à prier. L'Eternel est près de ceux qui l'invoquent avec sincérité dit le psalmiste. Puissions nous être sincère avec Dieu, y compris sur notre manque de prière !

[Olivia Teater · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is teeny but packs a punch! So encouraging and convicting!

“Prayer is the primary way true faith expresses itself… prayerlessness is practical atheism”

“[prayer tells] you, very accurately, how much of a baby you are spiritually, how much of a hypocrite you are, and how much you actually love the Lord.”

“Prayer is learning to enjoy the Father that Jesus has always enjoyed”

“The God of fellowship wants fellowship with us. He wants us to argue his promises and his character with him, for then who he is becomes an even more conscious reality for us.”

“United to Christ and in him, you are a cherished son - and your Father delights to hear from you.”

“Prayer is the antithesis of self-dependence”

“True intimacy is an acquired thing, something that develops - but it only develops with honesty”

Romans 8:26 - the Spirit intercedes for us in prayer

The Spirit helps us pray when we’re weak, makes us more Christ-like as we pray, and brings us together in fellowship with God.

Prayer is “understanding that each person of the trinity is for us in our weakness… The Son gives us the right to come boldly in his name as accepted children. Then our Father and the Son give us their Spirit precisely to help us enjoy what it is to be children, that is to enjoy the loving, outgoing life of God”

[Lauren Lewis · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.25⭐️ Short & easy read but has a lot of gospel truths!! Michael Reeves is one of my favorite authors, but his sermon inspired from this book of his is AMAZING. I would recommend that sermon as well. I loves Reeves honesty while also pointing to Christ as our hope. He encourages you to look at your prayer life as Calvin defines as “the chief exercise of faith”. Not as a thing “to do” but a gift to enjoy (being in communion with God)!

Wish the book was a little longer!

“Prayer for each other is sharing our Father's compassion. Prayer with each other is being family, and it fosters the unity our God loves.”

[Jonna Ventura · Rating 5 out of 5]

"In fact, as you grow as a Christian, you should feel not more self-sufficient but ever more needy."

I loved this little book so much. I can see myself rereading it every so often when I need to encourage and challenge my prayer life. If you are a Christian you will benefit from this little read. Highly recommend!

[Kailey Gott · Rating 5 out of 5]

Prayer, according to John Calvin, and agreed upon by Michael Reeves, is “the chief exercise of faith.” Therefore, “prayerlessness is practical atheism” (12).
This book gave a fresh and short understanding of prayer, how to pray and why it’s important. It’s to the point and shaped my perspective significantly on prayer.

[Faly & Lily]

Concise rebuke and invitation to pray

is small but it packs a punch. It will challenge you to go beyond your exasperation towards your prayer life, and bring you back to the main reason why we pray: a desire to communeThis book with the Triune God. Very enjoyable read.