How to Pray When You Don't Know What to Say

by Elmer L. Towns

For those who have ever stumbled over what to say while praying, or for those who want their prayers to be more effective, How to Pray When You Don’t Know What to Say offers clear guidance on the importance of prayer, a vast array of ways to approach God, why some prayers are not answered, how to deal with doubts about God’s ability to answer prayer, what not to do when praying, and more. In his encouraging style, Elmer Towns doesn’t induce guilt about not praying; rather, he makes readers want to drop to their knees in anticipation of meeting with the God of the universe. By following Elmer’s lead, your prayer life will never be the same.

Genres: Prayer, Nonfiction

245 pages, Paperback

First published March 10, 2006

About the author

Dr. Elmer Towns is a college and seminary professor, an author of popular and scholarly works (the editor of two encyclopedias), a popular seminar lecturer, and dedicated worker in Sunday school, and has developed over 20 resource packets for leadership education. He began teaching at Midwest Bible College, St. Louis, Missouri, for three years and was not satisfied with his textbooks so he began writing his own (he has published over 100 books listed in the Library of Congress, 7 listed in the Christian Booksellers Best Selling List; several becoming accepted as college textbooks. He is also the 1995 recipient of the coveted Gold Medallion Award awarded by the Christian Booksellers Association for writing the Book of the Year, i.e., The Names of the Holy Spirit.

He was President of Winnipeg Bible College for five years, leading it to receive American Accreditation and Provincial authority to offer degrees (1960-1965). He taught at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School, in greater Chicago, Illinois, in the field of Religious Education and Evangelism (1965-1971).

He is co-founder of Liberty University, with Jerry Falwell, in 1971, and was the only full-time teacher in the first year of Liberty's existence. Today, the University has over 11,400 students on campus with 39,000 in the Distance Learning Program (now Liberty University Online), and he is the Dean of the School of Religion.

Dr. Towns has given theological lectures and taught intensive seminars at over 50 theological seminaries in America and abroad. He holds visiting professorship rank in five seminaries. He has written over 2,000 reference and/or popular articles and received six honorary doctoral degrees. Four doctoral dissertations have analyzed his contribution to religious education and evangelism.

His personal education includes a B.S. from Northwestern College in Minneapolis, Minnesota, a M.A. from Southern Methodist University in Dallas, Texas, a Th.M. from Dallas Theological Seminary also in Dallas, a MRE from Garrett Theological Seminary in Evanston, Illinois, and a D.Min. from Fuller Theological Seminary in Pasadena, California.

Reviews

[W. Austin · Rating 2 out of 5]

I always learn something but it wasn't that interesting

[Gerald · Rating 4 out of 5]

The best book on prayer I've ever read is still A Call To Prayer by J.C Ryle which really addressed why we need to pray and the consequences for a prayerless life.
I was really drawn to this boo by the title - I've found myself on numerous occasions on my knees to pray but just out of words; didn't know what to say. This book addressed the how part of prayer and all the different types of prayers we can make and the circumstances. Awesome book.

[Julie Glynn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very helpful and practical advice on how to approach praying. Good suggestions on how to implement each strategy at the end of every chapter.

[Majekodunmi Omololuoye · Rating 5 out of 5]

great book. short but informative chapters. good tips at end of each chapter.