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Prayer and the Voice of God
Prayer doesn t have to be a mystery or a burden. In this Guidebook for Life, Phillip Jensen and Tony Payne open up what God himself says to us in the Scriptures about prayer, including what prayer really is, why we should do it and why we often don t. This insightful, practical book offers powerful motivations to get us back on our knees and praying, as well as helpful discussions of what to pray for. This is a clear, readable guide for new Christians wanting to get started in prayer, or longer-serving Christians whose prayer lives are wilting.
186 pages, Paperback
First published April 1, 2006
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About the author
Phillip D. Jensen
36 books13 followersPhillip Jensen is an Australian cleric of the Anglican Diocese of Sydney and the Dean of St Andrew's Cathedral. He is the brother of Peter Jensen, the Anglican Archbishop of Sydney.
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Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
September 2, 2024
I thought this book was both comprehensive and easy to read. The authors covered most of the thoughts I've had about prayer, and it did alter how I think about my prayer life to think about it more biblically.
November 2, 2013
A brilliantly practical and theological guide to prayer with helpful section headings and a review section and discussion guide at the back.
January 22, 2026
This is a book 1 in my goal to read 5 books about prayer this year - an area I need growth in.
This book was very straightforward and thorough. I appreciated the practical tone and the fact that the authors didn't use a long word if a short word would do. The phrase "voice of God" in the title might mislead people a bit, since the authors don't think that prayer involves listening to God at all; they believe that listening to God comes with reading his Word, and that prayer is a response to listening to God. I like the definition of prayer as "audible faith."
The section on what happens when we pray was most helpful to me, as I struggle most with the concept of whether prayer actually changes anything. Most compelling was their exposition of the section from James where it says "you don't have because you don't ask." That was a sobering section. They also have an interesting interpretation of the section in Mark 11, where it says "Whatever you ask in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours."
I don't think this is going to blow anybody's mind, but it is a very good, clear, orderly explanation of what prayer is, why we should do it, what keeps us from it, and whether prayer actually makes a difference. As an introduction or reminder of what the Bible says about prayer, I'm not sure you could do much better.
A quote I liked:
"Sometimes we will feel very much like praying. Sometimes we won't. Sometimes prayer feels sweet and delightful; at other times it feels like a wrestling match; and at other times, we feel as if the heavens are silent and distant, and that our prayers are going nowhere.
These feelings are natural and common, but they are no indication of the quality of our prayers or the extent to which God has heard them. Indeed, if we wait until we feel like praying, some of us might never pray again.
If prayer is the vocal expression of our relationship with God and that relationship is based on truth and reality (like Christ's death and my decision to trust in it), then prayer, too, is to be an objective fact of our experience, not a subjective impression of our feelings." (p. 60)
This book was very straightforward and thorough. I appreciated the practical tone and the fact that the authors didn't use a long word if a short word would do. The phrase "voice of God" in the title might mislead people a bit, since the authors don't think that prayer involves listening to God at all; they believe that listening to God comes with reading his Word, and that prayer is a response to listening to God. I like the definition of prayer as "audible faith."
The section on what happens when we pray was most helpful to me, as I struggle most with the concept of whether prayer actually changes anything. Most compelling was their exposition of the section from James where it says "you don't have because you don't ask." That was a sobering section. They also have an interesting interpretation of the section in Mark 11, where it says "Whatever you ask in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours."
I don't think this is going to blow anybody's mind, but it is a very good, clear, orderly explanation of what prayer is, why we should do it, what keeps us from it, and whether prayer actually makes a difference. As an introduction or reminder of what the Bible says about prayer, I'm not sure you could do much better.
A quote I liked:
"Sometimes we will feel very much like praying. Sometimes we won't. Sometimes prayer feels sweet and delightful; at other times it feels like a wrestling match; and at other times, we feel as if the heavens are silent and distant, and that our prayers are going nowhere.
These feelings are natural and common, but they are no indication of the quality of our prayers or the extent to which God has heard them. Indeed, if we wait until we feel like praying, some of us might never pray again.
If prayer is the vocal expression of our relationship with God and that relationship is based on truth and reality (like Christ's death and my decision to trust in it), then prayer, too, is to be an objective fact of our experience, not a subjective impression of our feelings." (p. 60)
March 17, 2020
The title is a little misleading. If I had been aware that the phrase the Voice Of God were better substituted with the Word of God, then I would have been less disappointed. I would still have been frustrated, as their definition of prayer differs significantly from mine. There were some passages of use, but very little I hadn't heard before.
June 1, 2018
Excellent book on prayer. Strong biblical teaching with both warm and practical pastoral application. In my mind the best accessible book out there on prayer.
November 25, 2021
Succinct, and profound. Love it.
December 31, 2021
Very pragmatic and helpful. Critically unpacks misconceptions about prayer. Summary of the book in an appendix to be referred to later.
January 7, 2024
A lot of applicable sections and a lot of Scripture!
March 30, 2024
As mentioned by the authors, this is not a book that is substitute to praying with our heavenly Father, rather a book that dives into why this is so worthwhile and important
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews