Book Review: Praying

I seldom listen to audio books twice, but had to for J. I. Packer's Praying: Finding Our Way Through Duty to Delight. It was so good; I wanted to take notes. The first time around, I did most of my listening during a lengthy car trip. The second time around, I sat next to the CD player with my hand poised to take notes on my phone. During prayer, so often our minds lose focus or set prayers feel hollow, but good praying is both a duty and a delight. One of my favorite quotes was, "Never think that time is wasted which is given to God." So true!

Packer says this is "not a how to, but a who to or to whom" of prayer. He identifies God's attributes and proves that God is trustworthy and praiseworthy. Thus, authentic prayer, Packer says, follows scripture, flows from responsive, grateful obedience, and from purity of heart. In the next section, the author turns to Bunyan's Pilgrim's Progress (this is why I wanted to re-listen). He outlines the stages of Pilgrim's journey: cross, conflict, companionship, cruelty of the world to Christians, compromise, carelessness, crossing the Jordan.

I love that he recites a piece about friendship I have heard before (I do not know whom to attribute it to): "A friend is a push when you have stopped, a word when you are lonely, a guide when you are searching, a smile when you are sad, a song when you are glad. A friend is one who walks in when the rest of the world walks out." Thus, he who has a friend is blessed beyond measure.

Finally, I loved the section discussing misunderstandings about prayer. Some view prayer as a superstitious illusion or a stated wish or notion. They reason that because God already knows your need and has a will, it is pointless to pray. Not so! In every child-parent relationship, the child approaches the parent to express their perceived need. When the Father meets that need, the child grows confident in the Father's love. 

Packer addresses another misunderstanding I have encountered. One Christian urged another to declare healing to God. She insisted that declaring healing would bring the desired healing. She also shared about a friend whose house was on fire and when the friend asserted "Not today!" the fire spontaneously stopped. I believe this is an error in understanding. As Packer observes, "they think because they pray earnestly that whatever they ask will happen and the only obstacle would be if they weren't praying earnestly enough." But we do not twist God's arm. We should not say, "MY will be done." When Jesus said "ask what you will," He added the control, "according to His will." As Packer emphasizes, "God, not the person praying, is in charge," and we "should focus not on ourselves, but on God." We can trust Him because He answers in the best way and at the best time. Often, we do not know what or when is best. We pray to submit those needs to His will.