Don’t Try to Pray Like Her: Fifteen Simple Habits to Enjoy a Realer, Richer Prayer Life

by Shellie Rushing Tomlinson, Missy Robertson (Foreword)

What if you could actually enjoy praying?Believers know praying is a commandment and not just a good idea but being told to pray doesn’t automatically birth a love for prayer in anyone.We know we should pray, but precious few of us enjoy a healthy prayer life. If we manage to squeeze prayer time into our busy lives, we often end up feeling like our efforts are wasted and fruitless because we aren’t doing it right.Author Shellie Rushing Tomlinson knows how it feels to be stuck in a hit-or-miss prayer life while longing for a deeper connection with God. Shellie helps believers move past this common struggle so they can enjoy the life-transforming gift of prayer.Don’t Try to Pray Like Fifteen Simple Habits to Enjoy a Realer, Richer Prayer Life is packed with Southern charm, humor, and fifteen prayer habits drawn from Shellie’s own experience. They’re each built around a short story and a practical prayer support that will help you learn to enjoy lingering in God’s presence.Scripturally anchored and perfect for personal reading or small groups, Don’t Try to Pray Like Her will reshape how you experience God in prayer, one real conversation at a time.

190 pages, Kindle Edition

Published February 3, 2026

About the author

I fell in love with storytelling as a child when my paternal grandmother regaled us with stories of what it was like to come to Louisiana from the hills of Appalachia and set up house in a tent with a dirt floor. On the other side of the family tree, my paternal grandfather, a people loving preacher, was known for using humor to draw his listeners to Jesus. It's safe to say the two of them marked me. Whether in my books, speaking before audiences, or dropping a segment on The Story Table podcast I created, I love nothing more than helping hungry hearts feast on Jesus through humor and storytelling. ~Shellie


Shellie Rushing Tomlinson lives in Lake Providence, Louisiana with her husband, Phil. They have two happily married kids, six grandchildren, and one neurotic lab named Hank. There's a story there...

Reviews

[Priscilla · Rating 5 out of 5]

A refreshing, grace-filled reminder that prayer was never meant to be a competition. Shellie’s unmatched humor and deeply relatable storytelling ever-so gently exposes the prayer comparison game so many of us (me!) play in our heads—and then with a little tough love she invites us to kick it to the curb with a play by play account of just how to grow a deeper and more intimate prayer life with the creator and sustainer of the universe.

She beautifully points us back to the truth that the Holy Spirit will guide us when we get ourselves out of the way, and that our Heavenly Father—our ABBA—loves us deeply and simply desires our presence. Don’t Try To Pray Like Her is a gentle reminder and a loving invitation to come to God just as we are. If you’ve ever felt insecure, inadequate, or intimidated in prayer, this book is for you!

[Melanie Howle · Rating 5 out of 5]

“Our greatest strength is realizing Jesus is our greatest need”… This beautiful quote is but one of many from Shellie Rushing Tomlinson’s latest book. Not only does Don’t Try to Pray Like Her beautifully remind us of our need for Jesus but also helps grow our relationship with Jesus through real, straight from the heart— and Shellie’s personal experience — steps to grow closer to God through prayer!
Whether you’re a seasoned prayer warrior or just tipping your toe into the pool of knowing Jesus more, this book offers real talk and straightforward insight of living life praying & actually longing to do so.
I’ve already bought a second copy to give to a friend. I highly recommend this book if you’re looking to draw closer to God through prayer.