Wherever believers are in their spiritual journey, one of the nation's greatest pastors offers encouragement and guidance that will help make prayer the adventure of a lifetime.
MacIntosh writes from a personal, testimony style about how important prayer has been to him, his family and his church.
Not a treatise on prayer but nonetheless, some good ideas about prayer: - if you fall in love with prayer, you can't help but fall in love with God p15 - Real prayer comes from not gritting our teach, but from falling in love. Richard Foster - We should speak to God from our hearts and talk to Him as a child talks to his father. Charles Spurgeon - We must lay before Him what is in us, not what ought to be in us. C.S. Lewis - The longer we stay away from Him, the worse we feel. p32 - Prayer is a key to spiritual growth. p43 - Keep on praying so you can keep on growing - Disappointment, postponement of pleasure, and weight of responsibility -- shape character. p45 - If you are too busy to pray, you are too busy. D.L. Moody - Every great movement of God can be traced to a kneeling figure. D.L. Moody p57 - Ps 32:8-9 God will instruct, teach, guide us. - Abraham: God's delays are not God's denials p86 - Pray as if everything depended on your prayer William Booth - The more you pray, the easier it becomes. The easier it becomes, the more you pray. Mother Teresa
I am struggling with prayer. I never know what to say or how to say what I want to say. This book helped me understand that it is not how you pray but what is in your heart; God understands. I still struggle but prayers are getting a little easier. Well written and understandable.
Es más un 3.5 ya que aunque da buenos mensajes, no me deja situaciones prácticas basadas en la Palabra De Dios para “enamorarme de la oración”. La intención está, el contenido deja que desear.
OK, folks, I had a love/hate relationship with this book. First, the love.
"It seems obvious that the more we sit at the feet of the Lord in prayer, the more of his attributes we take on."
And
"It probably would be safe to say that our love for anyone can be measured by how we pray for that person."
And
"Like Billy Graham, I will let every situation in which I find myself become an opportunity to pray for someone."
Sure, that all sounds good to me.
Now, the hate.
I did *not* like the author's extrapolation of the Hagar and Sarai story--how God instructed Hagar, the abused maidservant, to go back to her mistress, and how in the author's opinion, "You may cringe at the thought of going back to the source of your pain, of returning to the place and the people that caused your misery. You may have to humble yourself in the sight of those people. The Lord is going to bless you there, for he has heard your cries and your groaning of despair."
Umm, what?! This sounds like it could be extremely dangerous for some people, and nowhere does God say that just because Hagar felt she should go back, that means everyone should. This could be a safety issue for some--physically, spiritually, and mentally.
Also, why does the author try to play physician for those with stress and anxiety issues? Sure, we could all benefit from going to the Lord in prayer, but why does this have to be mutually exclusive with taking anti-depressants and anti-anxiety meds? I think a lot of Christians share his view, but I don't personally believe that you are any less spiritual or have less faith if you see a doctor and are prescribed medication for what ails you. On page 151, Macintosh says, "If I were your doctor, and you came to me for advice on how to handle stress and anxiety, I would give you a prescription to pray more and to read more of God's Word so that you would find peace."
Honestly, the chapter I enjoyed the most was the last one, which was about his family history of prayer (his mother and grandmother) and how to leave a legacy of prayer and faith for your own descendants and those you are in relationship with. I read this book because a friend loaned it to me, but I would not go out and buy it or tell anyone else they should read it. Mixed feelings about this one.