How Not to Pray: A Fresh Look at Prayer

by Jeff Lucas

Why do Christians find praying so hard? Because of what they believe about it, according to Jeff Lucas. Labelling our misconceptions as 'myths', Jeff Lucas sets out, in his own inimitable style, to debunk those myths that turn prayer into purgatory and stop us from enjoying the relationship with God that we should enjoy. The myths believing that prayer is only about us - and believing that prayer is never about that the only good prayers are long prayers, that we can't pray anyway, and that God is both far off and reluctant to hear us. Written with humour and passion, this is an immensely readable and helpful book that will delight those who have discovered the joys of Jeff Lucas' writings before, as well as those who come to it fresh.

Genres: Christian Living

141 pages, Paperback

First published December 1, 1969

About the author

Jeff Lucas is a Christian author, speaker, life coach, and broadcaster. He holds a pastoral teaching position at Timberline Church in Fort Collins, Colorado. He provides life coaching through Paterson Center. He is a columnist for Premier Christian magazine and for Sorted Magazine he has published 32 books, and he broadcasts a weekly radio show, Lucas on Life. He writes a column of daily bible reading notes, "Lucas on Life Every Day".

Reviews

[Sara Eames · Rating 5 out of 5]

An encouraging book on the subject of prayer. If you've questions about God and praying, this is a good place to start. Recommended.

[Gemma · Rating 5 out of 5]

I picked this up of a shelf needing a little Jeff Lucas wisdom and was not disappointed, it’s been along time since I read this the first time.

Here’s a quote from near the end, it’s gold
“Light shines in the midst of darkness; the gold of heaven’s king nestled in the dirt of a messed up, bloody world. The future is bright - yet we live in the meantime. So, in the meantime, keep breathing your prayers. Shout the urgent ones. Whisper your worship. Keep pressing in - and remember - prayer is for the fallen ones, like me, like you.”
Amen

[Philip · Rating 4 out of 5]

Aside from the bizarre and outright creepy cover, this is a nice entry point into exploring the often under taught and under discussed difficulties of Christian prayer.

[Sue · Rating 5 out of 5]

Treading lightly through the ‘Lord’s Prayer’, and with plenty of self-deprecating anecdotes, this book manages to be a powerful aid to anyone who would really like to pray a bit more effectively. Chatting to God at random times is fine, we’re assured. Even a brief ‘Help!’ prayer is okay. God cares about us more than a father for his child, and while he doesn’t want us to be selfish, he’d still prefer us to ask for stuff for ourselves than not to spend time with him at all.

It’s not that there’s anything new in this, or ideas I hadn’t heard previously at some point. But it’s tied together so well that I found myself both challenged and encouraged. It even got me thinking, again, about the importance of church services, even if they do seem over-long, trite and tedious at times.

All in all, I thought this book an absolute gem and would recommend it highly.

Latest longer review: https://suesbookreviews.blogspot.com/...

[Peter · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the funniest books that I've read.
I haven't laughed as much since I read Jerome's 'Three Men in a Boat'
An honest look at ourselves (Christians) and how we approach prayer with some pointers on how we should go about it; using 'The Lord's Prayer as a backbone and substantiated with sound Biblical understanding, wisdom and experience.
Highly recommended