Prayer's Apprentice

by Timothy Paul Jones

A former editor at Christianity Today shares a year of journaling, prayer, and meditation using bible passages and spiritual writings from Augustine, C. S. Lewis, Thomas Merton, and many others to draw closer to God.

256 pages, Hardcover

First published January 9, 2001

About the author

Timothy Paul Jones is an American evangelical scholar known for his work in apologetics and family ministry. He serves as the C. Edwin Gheens Professor of Christian Family Ministry at the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary. Jones has authored influential texts defending the historical reliability of the New Testament and has promoted a model of “family-equipping ministry,” which balances family discipleship with age-specific church programs. His apologetics have evolved from evidential to presuppositional approaches, emphasizing the role of the church’s moral witness and care for the marginalized. He has been recognized for books such as Misquoting Truth, How We Got the Bible, and In Church as It Is in Heaven, the latter promoting multiethnic church communities. Jones is a member of the Evangelical Theological Society and has been praised as a leading voice in engaging both secular critics and intra-faith debates. He and his wife Rayann have four adopted children.

Reviews

[Jamie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Not really meant to be a devotional, I began by using it as such. Apprenticing himself to "prayer" Timothy Jones chose one prayer per week to study and recite for a year. Known nationwide for leading retreats on prayer, that seemed like an odd practice for an "expert." But, the best experts know that there is always more to learn in their craft.

I really enjoyed the flow of the book. Jones describes his personal interaction with each prayer, how he chose them weekly (sometimes for specific content, to meet his needs, and other times randomly because he needed a prayer of the week), the history behind the prayer and the author, and how the prayers worked in his life. As the year went on, he became more intentional in the choosing of prayers, as he was being faced with difficult times and decisions.

I so enjoyed the writing, that eventually I gave up reading just a chapter or two per day during my devotional time, and just read straight through the book. I think this is a great resource for those who consider themselves "good" pray-ers, as well as those who are often unsure in their prayer life. It would actually be a good exercise, to study this chapter-by-chapter, week-by-week for a year to immerse oneself in these prayers and journal along.