Though it would fall into the "books on prayer" category, this book is about a lot more than prayer. (though I learned a lot about prayer as well) What I loved about the book was the reflections at the beginning of each chapter on biblical passages. White does a masterful job of letting us peer into these encounters between men and God. I really appreciate John White's perspective on scripture. Essentially, he takes a different biblical character for each chapter to reflect on and learn about prayer. Along the way you look at Abraham conversing with God over the fate of Sodom and Hannah asking the Lord for a child, and Job covering his mouth as God reveals himself to him. We look at how David had both reverence and joy in his dancing before the Lord and Paul's measured theological intercession for the Ephesians. The book ends by looking at the recorded prayers of Jesus during his last 24 hours.
I would definitely recommend this book to others. It's not a manual on how to pray but is more intended to look at the prayers of very real people and their response to God's initiative. Along the way, we learn to see God more clearly. It is kind of like a book that blends prayer with discipleship. I think it is one that I will reread in the future.
2 comments:
Did you read "Prayer," by Philip Yancey? Just wondering how you'd compare the two. I love some of his observations, though it sounds like he spends more time focusing on the question of "why pray?" than on the examples. Although he does use examples... it certainly does make a case for the power available to us...
I have not read Yancey's "Prayer". I have liked most of what I've read of him though. For a totally different vibe, I would recommend "Red Moon Rising" as a book on prayer that is simply inspiring. If you want to be inspired by the connection between prayer and mission I would highly recommend it. Also, it's a really easy read as the author simply tells the incredible story of one of the 24/7 prayer movements.
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