Talking to My Father: What Jesus Teaches About Prayer

by Ray C. Stedman

Book by Stedman, Ray C.

Genres: Prayer

183 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1984

About the author

Raymond Charles Stedman was an evangelical Christian pastor and author. He was a long-time pastor of Peninsula Bible Church in Palo Alto, California, and author of several books.

Reviews

[Millie Picker · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a wonderful book on John 17! Ray Stedman simply explains what talking with the Lord looks like in every believers life. He has written several great books that have given me a deeper perspective reading the Word. My favorite is: “Let God be God” which delves into the book of Job. This book would be my second favorite of his books.
Read, sir, ponder, and pray over what Stedman says in this book regarding John 17; you will never read it the same way again and even Stedman can’t plumb the depths of the riches of this prayer Jesus prayed.

[Karen · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am very new to prayer and my relationship with Jesus, so this booked helped me understand prayer better; what is is and isn't, and what it should be as well as a better understanding of Jesus. I am on an amazing spiritual journey and I felt this book helped me greatly!

[Sandra Eggleston · Rating 5 out of 5]

praying

[Trudi Griffin · Rating 5 out of 5]

In my youth, I memorized prayers in Catholic school. When I became a Christian later in life, I witnessed heartfelt prayers where people just talked to God. I learned to pray by reading the Bible and from listening to others. I came across this book in our library of books that my husband and I recently (finally) unpacked. Not sure if this was his or if it came to me from my mother's library, there is no indication in the book of its provenance. I believe prayer is powerful so when I took this out of the box, I knew I had to read it. The fourth paragraph of the book inspired me tremendously and framed the rest of it. "...the purpose of prayer is not to inform God about our needs, but to conform us to His will. Prayer doesn't change God. Prayer changes us."

The teaching from Pastor Stedman is biblically solid - he provides scriptural references for everything he says, starting with the foundations of why we should pray, how we should go about it, why Christians pray together, and the importance of Christian unity in Christ. I found multiple gems that reframed my perspective on prayer, including this stellar quote: "Jesus never taught his disciples how to preach. He taught them how to pray."

We live in a world that scoffs at prayer yet pushes meditation and self-rumination. The latter idolizes the self while prayer turns our attention to the source of truth and peace. Prayer is our connection to Jesus, and as the author says, "There is in Jesus Christ an adequate answer to any problem. You don't have the answer, but don't need to. He has the answer. Bring the problem to Him."

I highly recommend this book. It is a reminder of who is the foundation of faith and the importance of maintaining a relationship with Jesus through prayer. You'll come away with changed mindset and a more effective prayer life.

My prayer is that all who read it are blessed with the gift of peace that passes all understanding granted by our Lord Jesus through the Holy Spirit.

[North Beds Methodist Circuit Library · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ray Stedman works through Jesus's teachings on prayer pulling out nuggets of truth and meaning from them, culminating with the "true" Lord's prayer in John 17 and raising it as a challenge to us to pray likewise.
I found the book easy to read and insightful and thoroughly recommend it to explore the principals behind prayer.

[Samantha · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was an amazing book and I’m a little sad I’ve finished it. It was full of beautiful testimonies and scriptures that really touched my heart. I’d never heard of Ray C. Stedman before I picked up this book, but he is now added to my list of Christian authors to keep an eye out for.

[Steven E Scott · Rating 5 out of 5]

An answer to my prayers

This book has changed my attitude and approach to prayer. It's a wonderful way to think of how you pray.

[Connie Whisler · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was not only an excellent book on prayer & how to move deeper into fellowship with Him in prayer. The last chapter holds a wonderful discussion on the unity of the church that is made visible to a watching world when Christians love one another.

[Clara Roberts · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a good book but I expected so much more. I expected something to
enrich my time in prayer. I just thought that Stedman would have produced a book on prayer with profound insights. Instead his book was rather mundane. A later reread might be useful to me.

[Debi Grenseman · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent words that stir us to conversation with our Father God and intimacy with Him.

[Jordan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Such great truth! So much to learn. God is good, and I am so thankful for this. Very good material for devotionals as well.