Praying the Bible [Author: Donald S. Whitney] Forgive me for projecting my own Christian short comings, but I truly believe that every believer has known the feelings of guilt and frustration that come with a less-than-adequate prayer life. It comes from the disappointment when after what must have been 45 minutes of spirit filled intercession, one checks their phone to see that 5 minutes has actually passed. (Here’s to relativity of time!) It comes from the boredom of repeating the same old prayers the same old way every same old day. And it comes from the guilt when one struggles to constantly work-up the passions appropriate when conversing with the savior of our soul. I may be incorrect; perhaps, there are those who sincerely believe they have loved the Lord with ALL of their heart, ALL of their soul, ALL of their mind, and ALL of their strength at EVERY moment of EVERY day, and if that’s you I sincerely covet your prayers! But for the rest of us, we need books like this to come along and encourage us to keep grinding and growing in Christian maturity.
Whitney has produced a wonderful, VERY short book putting together his prayer practices for the past several years. He nicely presents a field-tested method for reinvigorating one’s personal prayer life by praying through portions of the Bible (especially the Psalms) and allowing God’s Word to guide and shape our conversations with Him. If you have ever read an article or blog post about praying the Scriptures, you will not find anything particularly novel. The real value of this book is in the practical examples scattered throughout and the plan of action the author provides to implement the contents of the book immediately. Whitney’s tone is conversational, making the experience pleasant and quick. The book is super short and can EASILY be completed in one sitting.
From an Apostolic Pentecostal perspective, this book will read differently than books on prayer with which one might be familiar. This is not bad, but different. The reader will find themselves not inundated with supernatural testimonies and experiences on every page, but rather with practical instruction in, and examples of, applying the ordinary means by which God graciously strengthens, equips, and builds his people everyday. This book could be valuable to anyone; therefore, I recommend it without reservation.
