What If Jesus Was Serious About Prayer?: A Visual Guide to the Spiritual Practice Most of Us Get Wrong

What If Jesus Was Serious Series

by Skye Jethani

"Skye Jethani wants you to know that prayer is so much more than a two-way transaction with a heavenly vending machine. Jesus didn't pray like that. And with a pastor's heart, Skye wants to take you deeper into what Jesus had to say about talking with God"--

Genres: Prayer, Christian, Faith, Nonfiction, Christianity, Christian Living, Theology

193 pages, Kindle Edition

Published June 1, 2021

About the author

SKYE JETHANI is an author, speaker, consultant and ordained pastor. He also serves as the co-host of the popular Phil Vischer Podcast, a weekly show that blends astute cultural and theological insights with comical conversation. He has been a sought after consultant for groups facing challenges at the intersection of faith and culture like The Lausanne Movement, The White House Office of Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships, and the Interfaith Youth Core. Skye has authored three books, The Divine Commodity: Discovering a Faith Beyond Consumer Christianity, WITH: Reimagining the Way You Relate to God, and Futureville. Skye and his wife Amanda have three children: Zoe, Isaac, and Lucy and reside in Wheaton, IL.

Reviews

[Bethany Ward · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of my favorite books of the year... and all time. I can’t put into words all the ways my understanding of prayer has shifted. The chapters are so concise and each contain a visual to really help you understand what is being discussed. I appreciate the way this book invited me into the word and into a deeper communion with God through prayer.

[Lily Jung · Rating 5 out of 5]

I”ve been following Jesus for 30+ years and prayer for me has been a lot like trying to clean and declutter my home - I know I need to do it, I have daily visual reminders that I need to do it, I’ll make some sporadic efforts here and there and an occasional sustained one, but my efforts generally run into the wall of “It’s too big of a mess and I don’t know where to start and I don’t feel like I’m really even making a dent in the problem”.

The content and format of “What If Jesus Was Serious About Prayer” has been tremendously helpful for me to see my prayer life not as an intimidating, insurmountable mess that can only be fixed by a gigantic tear down and rebuild, but as a life practice/skill that can be learned and in some cases re-learned by consistent small steps that redirect our focus back towards God. I tend to read books quickly and get a case of literary indigestion because I skim over things too quickly to really internalize the lessons within. But the format of this book - short reflections on specific aspects of prayer with accompanying Scriptures - strongly encourages me to pause and spend time focusing on one lesson and allowing it to sink in, rather than speeding on to the next one. Each reflection is brief (about 4-6 paragraphs) and profound. I keep the book at the kitchen table and read a segment at breakfast and find that helps me reflect on that aspect of prayer periodically throughout the day.

Lord willing, maybe this process of consistent gradual renovation of my prayer life will equip me to tackle decluttering my house.

[Fikemi Faleye · Rating 5 out of 5]

There is so much in this book that changed or helped me better understand prayer. A really great simple and fundamentals focused approach to prayer.

Not to say there weren't a couple sections that felt redundant/repetitive  or that some couldn't have been shortened/condensed  but I really  liked this one.

[Jahnie · Rating 4 out of 5]

A great primer or refresher on prayer that is applicable to all ages in these modern times.

[Josh Olds · Rating 4 out of 5]

Last year, Skye Jethani (you might know him from The Holy Post podcast) released a book called What If Jesus Was Serious? It was a light-hearted, colorful, fun discussion of what it means to actually follow Jesus. It was also a big hit, meaning that Jethani is back for round two, this time focusing on prayer.

It’s 53 devotional style chapters all focusing on some element of prayer. 400-500 words of text, a suggested Scripture reading, and an innovative illustration from Skye. It’s a devotional for people who don’t like devotionals, meaning that while the book isn’t explicitly marketing toward tween/teen guys, it’s definitely a book that I’d pitch more middle school and early high school students.

Skye’s thoughts are insightful, conversational, and thought-provoking. I could see this being used in a small group capacity or is some group study on prayer as a springboard toward more conversation and growth. Jethani is warm and humorous but also serious and compelling. Some devotionals like this try to be hip and cool and in with the kids. Skye doesn’t do that. He’s just himself and it’s his authenticity that makes the book what it is.

I’m someone that learns from reading. I love books. But that’s not the learning style best suited for everyone. Skye’s doodles and illustrations provide a different kind of visual that hits a different part of the brain and engages readers in a different way. If you’ve struggled with previous devotionals, seeing them too formal or rigid or ritualistic, give this one a try. You won’t regret it!

[Nancy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Skye Jethani is a master of thinking outside the box and bringing creativity and theology acumen to the topic of prayer. The book has a broad appeal, both to the newer believer, but also to those who have walked with God for many years. Skye, through his 53 short chapters, reminds us that there's always more we can learn about prayer! I loved the doodles that helped we visual learners to think, learn and remember in our own language. The scriptures at the end provide the reader an opportunity to engage in scriptures on the topic. This book is a great book for a small group to discuss and engage in the topic of prayer. I enjoyed doing about 8-10 chapters per week and the ladies love dit. I would recommend a small section at the end of each chapter with 2-3 questions that would help guide the discussion. Thankful for this great treasure to my library on prayer.

[Dave · Rating 5 out of 5]

Jethani breaks down a complicated and misunderstood practice for many Christians without berating missing the mark. The graphics help illustrate (sorry... Dad joke) the text and help me to think through the content after reading.

Through several primary passages and other supporting scriptures for further reading, WiJWS...AP takes a path independent of the previous title on the Sermon of the Mount. The book can be read as a stand-alone, but it will spark interest in the approach. I grew in my prayer practice from this book as I grew in other ways with WiJWS.

The book would be good for collective and individual reading and study.

[Megan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Disclaimer: I was given a copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

Skye Jethani's new book on prayer is comprised of 53 bite-size (two-page) chapters organized into six main sections. And of course each chapter is accompanied by one of Skye's trademark doodles!

The book steers the reader away from formulaic prayer or systems/methods for having a formal prayer life. There are no cute acronyms to help you pray specific topics; no prayer lists with dates for noting answered prayer.
Instead Skye encourages you use prayer as a way to get to know God better--to truly commune with Him throughout the day. I especially appreciated chapter 39 which describes using the Prayer of Examen to contemplate your day and identify what events or moments drew you closer to God and which moments distracted you from Him.

This book is easy to read, so you could certainly turn your teenagers loose with it. Or better yet, read the chapters aloud together and discuss the content. It would be a great choice for discipling your kids in the art of communing with God.

[Chelsea Rutt · Rating 5 out of 5]

Short and sweet! If you have questions about prayer or are looking for a good audiobook, I’d highly recommend this one! It’s about 3 hours and has 53 bite-sized chapters that pack a punch. (I liked it so much I just ordered the physical copy to go back through it.) I was skeptical going into it, but the chapters were really engaging and I found myself pausing to pray (wild right ?? On a book on prayer ?? In this economy ??) before continuing on. Anyway, it’s really good and you should read or listen to it and lemme know if you do 💁🏼‍♀️

[David S Harvey · Rating 5 out of 5]

An engaging and well informed intro to prayer.

I don’t think any Christian is confused about the need to pray. What’s difficult is the guilt and lack of clarity created by so much of the teaching on the subject.

This book is a gem. A simple but deep introduction to prayer. For anyone. Pastors should probably have stacks of this book in their offices just to hand out as needed.

[Paul · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thoughtful but thankfully not always or often predictable. I have used this as a devotional, but haven’t been in a hurry to get through it. Jethani helps us get past prayer as something we’re supposed to do, but instead as a way to commune with and relate to God, and his reflections help reframe our perspective.

[Jacob O'connor · Rating 5 out of 5]

Every once in a while I read a book that transports me to the third heaven, so to speak. While I'm reading it, I'm practically glowing. Skye Jethani's essays on prayer did just that, and for that reason alone it is one of the best books on prayer I've read. He is clear. He is simple, and yet he is deep. The illustrations are fantastic. I very much enjoyed this book and will reflect on it often.

[Staci · Rating 4 out of 5]

I wasn't sure if this book would be as good for our family devotions as his last one (Teachings of Jesus), but again, Skye Jethani had some very challenging things to consider in his short and snappy chapters. This series is great for young and old alike. So now the challenge is - what will we read next as a family!?!

[Eline Pullen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Short chapters, great insights on prayer. At the end of every chapter additional scripture to read is named. That brings the possibility to dive deeper whenever you prefer.

Recommend for everyone who wants to read and discover more about prayer.

I listened this book in the audio-version so still curious about the printed edition with illustrations.

[Seth Taylor · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is fantastic. No matter where you are in your walk with Christ, there is a ton to glean and try here. Reading this book seriously will end with spending quality time with Jesus in prayer, and what better than that?

[Tanner · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was amazing! I would recommend it to anyone who wants to grow in their prayer lives.

[Silas Kukaewkasem · Rating 4 out of 5]

A simple book for a spiritual practice we often overlook.

[Kirsten Umphryes · Rating 5 out of 5]

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[Lisa · Rating 5 out of 5]

A must read for every Christian! Will give freedom from the made up confines of cultural Christianity.

[Brielle · Rating 5 out of 5]

Amazing! I would recommend it to everyone! I learned so much and see prayer in a different, beautiful light! Looking forward to reading Skye’s other books!

[Lisa Morrow · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is one of the best books on prayer that I've read!

[Reeve Klatt · Rating 4 out of 5]

Incredibly helpful and so clearly layed out. Will be referencing a lot!

[Matthew Smith · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is both amusing and challenging. Even though the back cover summary spoils much of the book, it is immediately usable and is very timely. It was instrumental in the process of examining my prayer life this year. I recommend it wholeheartedly!

[Heidi · Rating 5 out of 5]

Insightful and accessible. Will return to this for devotional reading.

[Jenny · Rating 5 out of 5]

Skye does it again- measured, insightful, & not legalistic. The art really makes it a step above as well.

[Andrea Hoogwerf · Rating 5 out of 5]

How to think about prayer as God intended

I really liked this book. The art helped me see the point that was trying to be made and each lesson was backed with scripture.

[Luann Habecker]

Finally!

Prayer at its most fundamental level, is simply asking God to be God.

Our only hope of engage with God, therefore, is "some voluntary condescension on God's part"
All prayers relies on God's grace; his unearned hospitality to welcome us into His presence and receive the overflow of our jumbled hearts. That is what grace means, and not only are we saved by grace, we live but it as well. And we pray by it.

see prayer like a perfume, a welcome but nonessential addition to the air/see prayer like oxygen, the element of the atmosphere their life depends upon.
The cultivate real communion with God, however, we must not lose sight of our dependency and our poverty. If we do not believe we need God, we will not receive Him.

Do you know what's great about prayer? it's affordable.
the core dilemmas facing consumer Christianity. It always want to produce, package, and sell communion with God, but this agenda relies upon people believing communion with God requires some special knowledge or skill they do not possess.

what differentiates the journey of Christian prayer is not how it begins, but where it ends- in the arms of our heavenly Father. If we are merely looking for a dose of rejuvenation or a method for relieving stress, any pseudo-religious vessel on any heading will suffice. If, however, we are longing for communion with our Creator, Redeemer, and Healer-then we must take care to embark on the ship that sails to His shore rather than another.

To prayer, I think, does not mean to think about God in contrast to thinking about other things, or to spend time with God instead of spending time with other people. Rather, it means to think and live in the presence of God. Prayer is not an emptying of ourselves or an escape from the world. It is positioning ourselves to be filled with all the fullness of God, and to carry His presence into all we do.

assumes that prayer is primarily about communication, a narrow/incomplete understanding of prayer. Instead, prayer is primarily about relating to God even when words are not used. When we do employ words, particularly to express our needs to God, we are confessing our dependency upon Him and our lack of faith in ourselves. We are demonstrating our creatureliness and our need for HIs providence. sometimes as simple as saying, Lord, have mercy. and then resting in His presence.

" a great delusion" of elevated times of worship or elaborate rituals to draw closer to God.
all work, all places, and indeed all of life was sacred. Is it not quicker and easier just to do our common business wholly for the love of Him? As often as I could, I placed myself as a worshiper before him, fixing my mind upon his holy presence. radiating the joy and tranquility of Christ. There is not in the world a kind of life more sweet and delightful, that that of a continual conversation with God; those only can comprehend it who practice and experience it.

Don't seek to develop a prayer life-seek a praying life. A 'prayer life' is a segmented time for prayer. You'll end feeling guilty that you don't spend more time in prayer. Eventually you'll probably feel defeated and give up. A 'praying life' is a life that is saturated with prayerfulness-you seek to do all that you do with the Lord.
When you begin a new task, briefly pause to remember God's presence with you. With or without words, simply invite Him into the life you are already living.

In a real sense, prayer is both how God welcomes us into what He is doing and how we welcome God into what we are doing. What work has God called you to engage today? Imagine doing that work together with Him in prayer.

we teach about Jesus' death and resurrection but often ignore His ascension.
The treasure we have in heaven is also something very much available to us now. We can and should draw upon it as needed, for it is nothing less than God Himself and the wonderful society of His kingdom even now interwoven in m life. To draw upon the power of heaven to see God's will done on earth as it is in heaven. Our prayers carry more authority than we've been led to believe.

Too often we separate God's actions from our own. We assume God's intervention requires our passivity, and we think taking action ourselves reveals a lack of faith in God's providence. Prayer is not opposed to action. In fact, when we act in cooperation with God our actions become a form of prayer that is pleasing to Him.

We do not pray authoritatively because our prayers always accomplish what we intend, we pray authoritatively because we are God's children who have been granted access to His power through Christ's redemption on the cross. God's purpose was accomplished through both outcomes freed/executed.

Do you engage the Bible as a window through which you see and know God? If the bible is primarily a manual you'll find its value in prayer to be minimal. If you approach it as a window, however, it may be the most important way you learn to pray.

Benefits of using written prayers like the Psalms, aren't intended to be prefabricated messages or magical incantations but rather maps that guide our minds to where they would never wander if left to themselves. When Jesus' own disciples asked Him how to pray, our Lord taught them words to recite. Confuse spontaneity with authenticity. The structure provided by written prayers can guide us into deeper waters of communion with God.

We usually think of singing and praying as two distinct acts. Prayer is what we do when we need something from God and singing is what we do when He grants it. We've been taught to associate prayer with petition and singing with praise. In Jesus' culture singing was a means of lament and even complaint, not merely praise. praying and singing are two expressions of the same desire-to connect with God amid their suffering. Singing was itself an act of prayer.
sometimes singing, like prayer, is a discipline. We don't always sing in response to God's action, but in anticipation of it.

Prayer is a time to slow down, refocus and notice God's presence

Prayer of Examen

To confess means "to say the same thing." When we confess our sins we are merely admitting what God already knows to be true about us.

We must lay before Him what is in us, not what ought to be in us

his goal was not reconciliation with God. There is a difference between confessing sin, atoning for sin, and reconciliation with God. confess to escape consequences of our sinful decisions or actually want our sins removed so that we might live again in communion with God.
We ought to avoid sin which acts like thorny vines tangled around our legs preventing us from reaching Him. Confession is one of the ways we cut those vines, but the reason we cut them is to draw nearer to God.

A decision between following God's will or HIs own. rather than surrendering himself to the love of God, Adam, like every person since, rejected the will of God to declare, "My will be done!" His disobedience, which represents our own, unleashed sin, evil, and death into creation. [the second Adam inverted the first Adam's rebellion]

a life with God not merely a life full of knowledge about Him, you must pray. prayer is the conduit between our head and our heart. It is the catalyst that changes mere knowledge into love, and love into action.

Through prayer Jesus' fear had been transformed into faith. His faith gave him unworldly strength.

[Jocelyn]

If Jesus Was Serious About Prayer...
...then we should be too.  And yet, this book isn’t all seriousness and dry spiritual disciplines.  Cleverly illustrated with thought-provoking doodles in each of the 53 entries, Skye Jethani gives fresh perspective and accessibility to timeless truths about prayer.  

If you're looking for "new," and "prosperity," and "expanded territory," you won't find it here.

But, "If you have been struggling and hungry for a deeper faith, a life with God, not merely a life full of knowledge about Him, you must pray." (page 166).  In What if Jesus Was Serious About Prayer, the author helps us understand how to change our "prayer life" from a spiritual discipline that we may feel obligated to check off, into deep and rich communion with God that can permeate every aspect of our life.

[Phillip · Rating 5 out of 5]

A Great Practical Book

Skye packs a lot of wisdom in just a few words. The drawings alone are almost worth the piece of the book. The sections are sized just right whether you have only a few minutes to read or hours.

[Desmond Moore · Rating 5 out of 5]

Let me begin by saying a big thank you to Skye for all the work and research he did in writing this book and also to Moody Publishers for printing and disseminating it.

I have been a Christian for about 60 years, 40 of which I have spent in various ministries from Church planting to Bible College lecturing to Pastoring, currently in a coastal community in South Africa.

I first came across Skye's ministry through the Holy Post podcast, Having heard him speak and teach on a variety of subjects, I bought this book. Having read the book I would like to say that my initial enjoyment of his ministry was increased. It is with pleasure that I would and do recommend this book to anyone--no matter where they are on their pilgrimage of faith.

I love the doodles, they are never extraneous, rather they enhance the teaching by presenting it in a simple, but never simplistic, illustration. I found that the design of the book with its short chapters facilitated its use as a devotional that was more than merely a devotional. It is filled with truth that increases our understanding and at the same time encourages us to take action, i.e., to pray. I appreciate his invitation to 'read more' and then giving us appropriate Bible passages into which we can delve and through which we can grow.

By breaking the topic of prayer into 6 parts, he leads us out of the trap of seeing prayer as something that only professionals can do. One of the saddest moments of my ministry was when a member of the church said that they 'cannot pray in public because they cannot pray like me! (the perceived professional).' If I had been able then to place this book in his hands, I am sure he would have realised that prayer is not for 'professionals' for in matters of prayer, we are all pilgrims who are learning as we go. Each part leads to the next and culminates in the reminder that prayer does not necessarily change the world but changes our perspective on the world--we begin to see the world as God sees it.

In the midst of the lockdown imposed by the Government because of the Covid-19 Pandemic, when face-to-face meetings were not allowed, I took to the social media platform, WhatsApp, to minister to the local church members. We used this platform as most of the congregation are on fixed pensions and in South Africa data is expensive plus many are not technological savvy. Skye's "WHAT IF JESUS WAS SERIOUS ABOUT PRAYER?" reminded me that prayer needs to be taught as it is not usually caught. Jesus taught his disciples and this stimulated me to teach a short practical course via WhatsApp on prayer. This has been well received and will, I hope, lead to a deeper communion with God.

On a more personal note, Skye reminded me of a period in my life when I was facing a dark midnight. I was a 20 year old university student when my father unexpectedly died. I was 80 miles away from home and was informed by telephone of his death. I was overwhelmed and although a strong believer, I had no words to express my emptiness. At that moment the Lord brought to my mind the words of a hymn written by Wlliam Williams, 'Guide me, O Thou great Jehovah' and that hymn became my prayer for the rest of that day and more. The Lord answered that prayer. Over the years, that memory had become overlaid and so it was with great joy that on reading Chapter 34, Skye reminded me of my own experience. Thank you for scraping off the overlay.

So, thank you Skye and Moody Publishers. May the Lord use this book to bring about spiritual growth and to revive the Church at this time when the Church is being Spiritually attacked. Paul reminds us that along with putting on the full armour of God, the Church is exhorted to 'pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests' (Philippians 6:18). May the seriousness with which Jesus approached prayer be reflected in our day and in our lives.

God bless,

Desmond Moore