William Ray offers this study of 'The Lord's Prayer' or 'The Model Prayer' with the premise that Jesus would not have told us to pray a prayer that didn't work.In Knowing God Through Prayer William Ray offers a good study on the Biblical teachings on prayer and one that will help our prayer lives. This book is definitely a challenge to take time out of our day for prayer; Ray presents us with a benefit of this time when he says:
"People's lives today are often too busy and crowded. You might say that they lack a margin. Margin on a page, of course is empty space around the text. Margin in our lives is some space to breath. We tend to run from one activity to another, one meeting to another, and are always connected - by cell phones and email and text messages and the Internet and laptops and PDAs. Some private time in a meeting place with God will help build some margin in our life, help us remember what is really important."
Initial Concerns
To be honest; in the opening chapter of this book I felt that some Scriptures were being stretched to fit & I was struggling to keep going. One example of this is the use of John 5:19 "I tell you the truth, the Son can do nothing by himself; he can do only what he sees his Father doing, because whatever the Father does the Son also does" to say:
"If Jesus saw what the Father was doing, that means he was in communication with him. Communication with God is another name for prayer."
Personally, I'm not altogether sure that this verse is referring to Jesus prayer life as being where He saw the Father.
Thrilled, Challenged & Activated
But then I hit chapter 3 'Worshiping God Through Prayer', and from there the book really took off for me and I found myself thrilled by the truths unpacked in it, along with being challenged toward further prayer. I also found myself gripped from this point on, setting it down, during my reading times, only to put what I was reading into action.
Writing Style
William Ray writes with many stories & illustrations that compliment the plain truths that he draws out of Scriptural teachings on prayer. This not only helps to keep you gripped to the book but actually helps to push the lessons further into memory. Here's one example that stands prominent in my mind of how he weaves illustration and truth together:
"The story is told of some mountain climbers in the Alps. Two were experienced. One was making his first climb in the Alps. They climbed and climbed, up the rock and snow. When they reached the summit, the two experienced climbers moved aside to let their friend go first. The young man ascended the summit and was about to jump to his feet - when his two friends pulled him down! When he asked them what they were doing, one of them said, "Hold your hand up." He did and felt a powerful gust of wind. "Up here," the experienced climber explained, "the only safe place is on your knees."
It is the same with God. We should trust him as our loving Heavenly Father, but we should also show him reverence and awe as the Most High."
One other feature of this book that I appreciated was that there are many occasions when Ray leaves blank lines to enable the reader to insert a written response; such as writing down a problem that they face, or space to list some things we could thank God for in our lives.
It's quite a simple thing but one that I found to be useful as I went through this book, making it a bit more interactive.
Recommending
Ray states early in the book that when there's no vision we lose our way; and what was highly exciting for me was that throughout this study on prayer the author time and again added vision of the person & works of God. I doubt very much that anyone reading this book would come away not having seen a glimpse of God through the Biblical revelations that Ray offers.
This, along with the clear teachings on prayer make this book a useful tool for study and one that I definitely recommend to Christians at all stages of their walk with Christ.
Product details
Paperback: 168 pages
Publisher: Ambassador-Emerald International
Language English
ISBN-10: 1932307583
ISBN-13: 978-1932307580
Product Dimensions: 21.1 x 14 x 1.3 cm
