Persistent Prayer
Why do I need to pray? Is prayer really necessary? Persistent Prayer, by Guy M. Richard, serves as a helpful primer for pastors, elders, study groups, and Christians who seek encouragement and instruction on prayer and its blessings. These books were written with the church in mind to introduce and celebrate Reformed doctrine and practice as a part of P&R’s Blessings of the Faith series.
Pleading with God
Prayer is pleading with God – pouring out our hearts before him. It is motivated by a need that we cannot meet ourselves and that we desperately want God to supply for us. Richard uses the memorable phrase of prayer being “relationship glue,” and he means prayer provides us intimacy with Christ.
By looking at Abraham, Moses, and David, we learn that pleading our case before God means making arguments. He doesn’t mean fighting with God, but he means making claims that will hold weight with the Lord because it is in keeping with his character and his revealed will. Pleading and praise should go together, so prayer remains an act of worship. Confession and thanksgiving should be included as well. And God calls us to be persistent in prayer. It is comforting to know that he wants to hear us.
In Jesus’ Name
Chapter 2 tells us what it means to pray “in Jesus’ name.” There is a Biblical basis for being sure that God answers prayer, but we must watch out for selfish motives and desires as well as persistent and unrepentant sin in our lives. God is more interested in spiritual healings and blessings rather than physical healings and blessings. Richard encourages those especially of the Reformed traditions to pray for big things and for grand ideas and plans, knowing that God is willing and ready to give.
Chapter 3 explains why prayer is necessary – starting with the fact that God commands prayer. Moreover, it is spiritual breathing, an expression of our relationship with God, and our lifeline on the battlefront. Chapter 4 is about growing in prayer, and one of my favorite takeaways is that we must pray kingdom prayers with a greater sense of urgency. We live in a world of spiritual warfare, and we have the means to turn the world upside down.
Moved to Pray
If God is sovereign, why should I pray? How can I learn to pray? How can I overcome my fear of praying in public? What does it mean to pray in the Spirit? These are some excellent questions that are answered at the back of the book.
Through prayer, we have the privilege of being coworkers with the God of the universe. Through prayer, we have God’s resources in the worst situations. This book is encouraging and motivating. I am moved to pray with anticipation and expectation.
I received a media copy of Persistent Prayer and this is my honest review. Find more of my book reviews and follow Dive In, Dig Deep on Instagram - my account dedicated to Bibles and books to see the beauty of the Bible and the role of reading in the Christian life. To read all of my book reviews and to receive all of the free eBooks I find on the web, subscribe to my free newsletter.