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Too Busy Not To Pray: Slowing down to be with God by Bill Hybels
by Jeffrey R. E. Morgan Got a lot going on? Do you think you are too busy to pray? Well, this book shows you the benefits of an active prayer life, an action plan for starting or restarting a prayer life, and also some reasons why we should pray. The author has broken the book down into 4 major sections with a few chapters each. God calls us into his presence, God invites us to talk with him, God breaks down the barriers between us, and God speaks to our hearts. The first section is all about who God is as a listener and a grantor of our prayers. The author wants us to see the character of God throughout scripture and also the reasons God wants to grant our prayers. The next section speaks of the ways in which we should pray. What sorts of things should we be praying for and why that is important to each of us. "God doesn't want us to pile up impressive phrases. He doesn't want us to use words without thinking about their meaning. He wants us simply to talk to him as to a friend of father―authentically, reverently, personally, earnestly." (p. 54) The third section speaks about barriers to our prayers getting through. In the chapter on prayer busters (ch. 9), the author gets to the heart of what could be standing in the way of answered prayers. "For each unanswered prayer, its important to check out three possible hindrances...the request may be inappropriate...the timing may be off...there may be a problem in the life of the person who is praying." (p. 100) The last section is where the rubber meets the road. This portion of the book is laid out in a practical manner and speaks to the heart of what we should do if we really want to start or in some cases restart our prayer lives. In the chapter "Slowing Down To Pray", the author speaks of our lives like that of a race car engine. For most of us our engines are revved to the maximum output. We are constantly racing off to the next event, class, bible study, or church service with never enough time to stop for prayer. He asks a very pointed question, "Where does the still, small voice of God fit into our hectic lives? When do we allow him to lead and guide and correct and affirm? And if this seldom happens, how can we lead truly authentic Christian lives?" (p. 125) What I loved about this book is that it not only enlightened me as to why we all should be praying more often, but it spoke the importance of listening (ch. 12), how to hear God's leadings (ch 13), and what to do with leadings (ch. 14) If you are a person who is wondering where we should pray, when we should pray, why we should pray, how to pray, or what to pray for then this book will be of real use to you. If you have never started your prayer life or are looking to rekindle the flames of a once fruitful prayer life, then I highly recommend you read this book. God is waiting daily to hear from you. Are you willing to slow down enough to speak to him? Jeffrey R. E. Morgan, a member of the Evangelical Theological Society (ETS), founder of Blessings From Heaven Ministries, and Master of Divinity (M.Div) student at Faith Evangelical Seminary, has a passion for Christ and the Word of God and seeks to share this with his readers. Article Source: http://www.faithwriters.com |