Dimensions of Prayer: Cultivating a Relationship with God

by Douglas V. Steere, Glenn Hinson (Foreword by)

Prayer can be wonderfully accessible to everyone. "In learning to pray, no laboratory is needed but a room, no apparatus but ourselves," Douglas Steere writes. Aware of how easily we can be intimidated by complex methods, Steere suggests that we begin by simply acknowledging our dependence on God. Prayer comes as a response to a God who "besieges us with love," he says. In Dimensions of Prayer , Steere answers common questions and concerns about prayer. Among the topics covered are petition, confession, adoration, intercessory prayer, and how to cope with dry times in prayer. This easy-to-read book offers new "pray-ers" an engaging introduction to prayer while providing valuable wisdom for mature Christians.

Genres: Prayer

128 pages, Paperback

First published June 1, 1997

Reviews

[Milton · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is my favorite book on prayer.

[Joe · Rating 5 out of 5]

I've read this little book several times and it never disappoints.

[Mason Tabor · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was fun. The style was eloquent and reflected an older, richer era of writing. It felt deep. There were plenty of solid insights about prayer in here. The references to insights from religions other than Christianity did make me feel uneasy, at times, but I do not think they should prevent any theologically conservative Christians from plumbing the book’s pages for spiritual insights. Great, fun, short read.

[JD Waggy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Steere demarcates his audience right at the beginning, which is kind of nice. This isn't a book about why to pray, or what prayer has been over the years (though it does have a dash of history via some American-based denominations). It's a "workbook on prayer" (xvii) for those who are already Christian but are seeking to do that better and more deeply. It begins with the connection to meditation and the realization that there is no one way to pray, which is a good reminder--and that's what most of this book is: a good reminder. There's nothing really new here, but there is a quiet pull back to what we already know and yet forget in the day-to-day necessities. There are also some really great quotes from others, like this one from George Bernanos: "Hell is not to love any more." Or the idea that prayer unearths your stuff but it isn't actually about your stuff.

There's minimal citation here even though Steere draws from a lot of folks, and this definitely veers toward the end of the theological spectrum that hints at spiritual decay being all on you, a stance with which I disagree. But it's a good starting book; I'd recommend it for prayer groups or maybe a Sunday school class or, definitely, those individuals who are looking for a path back into (or into for the first time) a life including prayer.

Other good quotes of note:
"The only really fatal failure is to stop praying and not to begin again." (xx)
"Let our Lord love you without justice!" (6)
"In most mature persons, spoken prayer at some point gives way to silent prayer, to mental prayer, to a waiting on God." (27)
"They are always reopening the vault where they have deposited their sin, and are forever asking to have it back in order to fondle it; reconstruct, query, or worry over it; wear it inwardly." (46)
"To call on the Lord's treasury presupposes that those who pray have first done everything in their own power to meet the need." (62)

[Michelle · Rating 4 out of 5]

From the outset Van Steere states that this book is not a how to guide for prayer, rather it discusses how we approach the Almighty in prayer and how the relationship cultivated through prayer shapes us.

[Circle of Hope Pastors · Rating 4 out of 5]

Local Quaker tells everything he has learned with beginners in mind.

[Amy · Rating 1 out of 5]

Many Christian cliques - lacks depth