Passionate Prayer: Discovering the Power of Talking with God

by Catherine Martin

Catherine Martin, popular retreat and conference speaker, adds to her growing list of indispensible resources for spiritual formation with this 30–day adventure to becoming a passionate pray–er. Passionate Prayer is designed to encourage Christians who long to pray more effectively. Readers who join Martin along this journey will discover the power of talking with God, be reminded of His promises to those who pray, and experience the privilege of a prayer relationship. Passionate Prayer goes beyond the development of a theology of prayer. It is intensely practical, showing readers how to develop greater passion for God and for communion with Him. If we neglect prayer, we miss out on knowing for ourselves the very character and person of God. But when we draw near to God, we gain wisdom for today and guidance for tomorrow.

Genres: Prayer, Nonfiction, Christian Living

272 pages, Paperback

First published February 1, 2009

About the author

Catherine Martin is Founder of Quiet Time Ministries, a summa cum laude graduate of Bethel Theological Seminary, and author of more than 20 books. Speaking at retreats and conferences, she teaches devotion to God and His Word to men and women throughout the world." She has a great love for reading and books and loves to share her favorites here at GoodReads. You can find out more about Catherine and Quiet Time Ministries at http://www.quiettime.org and http://www.cathscommunity.com.

Reviews

[Christy Trever · Rating 5 out of 5]

Passionate Prayer by Catherine Martin is a new release from Quiet Times Ministry. Prayer is the best way to become closer to God. It's our way of communicating with Him, as well as quiet time to listen to Him in return. I've long wanted to deepen my prayer life, and when I saw that Martin had released a book about just that, I couldn't wait to read it. I am a huge fan of her writing; I've learned so much about faith and myself because of her books. The book is a 30 day adventure and is broken up into five six day weeks. The first five days are short chapters about a particular type of prayer, and the sixth day is an indepth study session with lots of Scripture to look up. There is a place in each reading for readers to record their thoughts and learnings. I was regularly jotting down amazing quotes about prayer from famous theologians and pastors like: I want to tell you a growing conviction with me, and that is that as we obey the leadings of the Spirit of God, we enable God to answer the prayers of other people. I mean that our lives, my life is the answer to someone's prayer, prayer perhaps centuries ago...I have the unspeakable knowledge that my life is the answer to prayers, and that God is blessing me and making me a blessing entirely of His sovereign grace and nothing to do with my merits, saving as I am bold enough to trust his leading and not the dictates of my own wisdom and common sense. -Oswald Chambers The book is filled with wisdom and real advice to help deepen your prayer life and strengthen your relationship with God. Martin offers reasons to prayer and results of prayer. The story about a hot water bottle gave me goosebumps! I've passed the book on to my husband, and when he finishes, I will most certainly pass it on to someone else, because it's too good to keep to myself!

[Christy Trever · Rating 5 out of 5]

Passionate Prayer: A Quiet Time Experience by Catherine Martin is hands down the most powerful, life-affecting book I have ever read in my life (next to the Bible, of course). It's a companion volume to Passionate Prayer, and they can be read together, but I chose to read them consecutively to extend my time in Martin's wonderful writing. She uses several Psalms of varying themes to encourage readers to turn to God in every season of their lives, whether grieving and persecuted or rejoicing, all are times to turn to God in prayer. The book is meant for use over 8 weeks, each week broken down into six lessons. The first five dig deep into that week's selected Psalm with quotes from theologians and verses from Scripture. The sixth day is a short reading for contemplation. I've been writing in a prayer journal nightly for years, but my nightly prayer went from one page to often three or more pages, and my prayer life grew exponentially. I can't begin to tell you all of the spiritual breakthroughs I had while reading this book. Not necessarily directly from the reading, but because my prayer life was so enriched I was able to hear God speak clearly and directly to me. Martin has a wonderful heart for God, and any reader will be blessed by this book.

[Lisa · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this study. She gives lots of ideas for other books on prayer to follow up on. I found that week 2 was the least informative since it was about how she set up her prayer journal. I did not get much out of that week, but on the whole I was impressed with her insight and would recommend this as a small group study. It was also a nice length, given it was for 30 days.

[Cynde · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting reading but I feel it is great to study prayer but your actual prayerlife should be a flowing conversation with your Abba Father the God who loves you and sent his son to save you. You really don't need all the structure. Structure just like religion is man(or woman) made.

[Suzy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow! A must read for someone who wants to learn more about prayer. Get your own copy. You will want to mark the text!!