Prayer: A Holy Occupation

by Oswald Chambers, Julie Link (Compililation)

“You ask and do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives” (James 4:3). 

What might the right motives be? In Prayer: A Holy Occupation Oswald Chambers shares his heart’s desires in prayer to help you: know Jesus better, to discern His will, and to make Christ’s will your own. 

This is not merely a “pray harder” book, but editor Julie Ackerman Link has carefully selected a collection of Oswald Chamber’s insights to enrich your prayer life. As the author of the all-time bestselling devotional, My Utmost for His Highest, Chambers brings you a treasure-trove of wisdom and insight.

Genres: Prayer, Christian, Christian Living, Devotional, Spirituality, Faith, Christianity

192 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1989

About the author

Oswald Chambers was born to devout parents in Aberdeen, Scotland. At age 16, Oswald Chambers was baptized and became a member of Rye Lane Baptist Chapel. Even as a teenager, Chambers was noted for his deep spirituality, and he participated in the evangelization of poor occupants of local lodging houses. Oswald married Gertrude in May 1910, and on May 24, 1913, Gertrude gave birth to their only child, Kathleen. In 1915, a year after the outbreak of World War I, Chambers was accepted as a YMCA chaplain. He was assigned to Zeitoun, Cairo, Egypt, where he ministered to Australian and New Zealand troops, who later participated in the Battle of Gallipoli. Soon his wooden-framed "hut" was packed with hundreds of soldiers listening attentively to his messages. Confronted by a soldier who said, "I can't stand religious people," Chambers replied, "Neither can I." Chambers was stricken with appendicitis on October 17, 1917 but resisted going to a hospital on the grounds that the beds would be needed by men wounded in the long-expected Third Battle of Gaza. On October 29th, a surgeon performed an emergency appendectomy, but Chambers died November 15, 1917 from a hemorrhage of the lungs. He was buried in Cairo with full military honors. Gertrude, for the remainder of her life published books and articles for him edited from the notes she had taken in shorthand from his sermons. Most successful of the thirty books was, "My Utmost for His Highest", which has never been out of print and has been translated into 39 languages.

Reviews

[Robert]

Oswald Chambers is well known for his insight into the Scriptures. In this book, you will learn the proper way to and not to pray. If your prayer life is confusing to you...then pick up this book and learn how to pray to get God to listen best.

[Sarita · Rating 5 out of 5]

Outstanding book! Gleans the best nuggets from many Oswald Chambers books, presenting it in a lovely, life-changing package.

[Christopher Lewis Kozoriz · Rating 2 out of 5]

"The very powers of darkness are paralyzed by prayer. No wonder Satan tries to keep our minds fussy in active work "till we cannot think to pray." ~ Oswald Chambers, Prayer: A Holy Occupation, Page 66, Paragraph 3

I found I did not connect to the writing style of Oswald Chambers. It was too choppy and hard to read. I liked some of the things he said on prayer, but at times found the materials too pious and lacking real Power...meaning the Holy Spirit is mentioned very little and I think this is remarkable considering it is the Holy Spirit who makes intercession through us (See Romans 8:26).

My question is "Is it possible to pray effectively without the Holy Spirit?"

I think prayer can turn into a religious exercise and that God abhors these kinds of prayers. I believe He wants us to get real and talk to Him as the Friend and Father that He really is. Leave the religiosity out of the Prayer Closet. It stinks!

[Arun Britto · Rating 5 out of 5]

“the basis of prayer is not what it costs us, but what it costs God to enable us to pray”
This is just one of the many revelations Chambers has had in his journey with the Lord. Oswald Chambers’ lived experience and his journey with prayer is clearly revealed as intimate and relational.

This is one of the best books on prayer that i’ve read.
The use of short chapters and reflective questions makes this an excellent devotional which you can slowly read and apply to your prayer life.

The depth and “meat” in this book is incredible and i would highly recommend it to any Christian or anyone who wants to know more about prayer.

[Reid · Rating 1 out of 5]

Never could get into this devotional. The quotes and themes seemed to be too disjointed for me to follow. Struggled for a few years and kept picking it up thinking it would mean more to me but I decided to move on, thinking someone else might benefit from it.

[Autumn Slaght · Rating 4 out of 5]

Such a good and enjoyable little book! It was very lightweight and small, so it was easy to read anywhere and yes, that's one of the reasons I liked it. :)
Maybe not my favorite or most powerful Christian book that I've read but it was a good read! I think the thing I took most from it was that
1) Getting up early in the morning is the best prayer time, and is highly encouraged by God.
2) People who make excuses about being "too busy" for prayer or "not enough time" forget that Jesus Christ paid the heaviest price imaginable just so that we COULD go before the throne of God and we should not abuse or forget that.
3) Prayer requires diligence and
4) A Christian's life is transformed by prayer.
Those are all the things I can think of off the top of my head. I'm sure there's more! I think this would be a GREAT book for young Christians to start out reading, as it will steer you away from the feel-good, one-a-day light and cheesy prayer books that are out there. It will definitely teach you to pray and regard prayer as of the utmost importance.

[Sandi · Rating 5 out of 5]

A precious book.I have underlined and written on many of the pages just as I have in My Utmost for His Highest. the introduction is excellent The selections are taken from other books by Chambers.
Here’s an example:
“Prayer is not getting things from God. That is a most initial stage;prayer is getting into perfect communion with God:I tell Him what I know He knows in order that I may get to know it as He does.”
Chew on that.
And if, as another reviewer said here, you have to get out a dictionary to read Chambers work, it’s worth it! Oswald Chambers was an academic and he used some words in a different context than we are used to.

[Lance Towers · Rating 3 out of 5]

The choicest portions of Oswald Chambers writings on prayer have been compiled to make up this volume. One of the quotes included states, "In the history of humanity pride has never prayed." Thus, Chambers urges us to humble our souls and knock on the door of heaven.

[Teresa Parker · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you need a deeper prayer life or a guide on how to pray, this is the book for you! A great resource to have on hand always!

[Adriane · Rating 4 out of 5]

Snippets about prayer from OC. It took me awhile to get into this book. I was not expecting this format. But there is plenty to be gained even from these short comments.

[Andra Botha · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a soulsearching book. It brings the reader back to realising the importance if our duty and privilege to go into the Throne Room and spend time with our Heavenly Father. A marvelous book.

[Gary Emig · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another inspiring book by Chambers. Wonderful insight on prayer.

[Kevin Casto · Rating 5 out of 5]

A wonderful little book to push your prayer life into deeper waters.

[Krystal Esmi · Rating 5 out of 5]

When I first started reading this book, I found it very difficult to read (which was the main reason for my binge reading). The wording was challenging to understand; at times, I felt as though I needed a PhD and a dictionary just to follow along. This was a downside of the book. Another downside was the fact that the book had really good lessons, but as soon as it was getting to the core of the subject, it abruptly stopped and went on to another topic. I wish that the writer would have elaborated more on the issue instead of just acknowledging it.

I rated this book a perfect 5 out of 5 because I was helped really by it. I took notes on what I read, and I plan on practicing applying them to my life. Even with the difficult wording and cliff-hanger messages, I can't deny the fact that this book helped me to understand prayer better.

I would read it again, and I would recommend it.

[Tony Parsons · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very awesome book covers, a cool map, some pictures, & great font & writing style. A very well written informative book on various personal religious aspects (Prayer). They were all very easy for me to read/follow from start/finish & never a dull moment. There were no grammar/typo errors, nor any repetitive or out of line sequence sentences. Lots of exciting scenarios, with several twists/turns & a great set of unique characters to keep track of. A very easy rating of 5 stars.

Thank you for the free book (Discovery House)
Tony Parsons MSW (Washburn)

[Cynthia · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was an authoritatively-written book about prayer. There were a few surprising statements that spoke to the counter-intuitive character of God. "REMEMBER that Jesus Christ's silenses are always signs that He knows we can stand a bigger revelation than we think we can. If He gives you the exact answer, He cannot trust you yet."