Last night I finally started reading Paul E. Miller’s A Praying Life: Connecting with God in a Distracting World
“…don’t hunt for a feeling in prayer. Deep in our psyches we want an experience with God or an experience in prayer. Once we make that our quest, we lose God. You don’t experience God; you get to know him. You submit to him, you enjoy him. He is, after all, a person.
(pg, 21)
I’m not sure that I hunt for a feeling in prayer, but the thought that I shouldn’t seek to experience God, but experience life with God is the kind of precise exhortation I need. God isn’t a feeling, but a person I was made to know. It’s like with my wife, Jen. I don’t set out to experience her, I seek to know her more fully and experience life with her.
He also likens prayer to a family meal – a beautiful picture I can appreciate. As he unpacks this idea he points out that we often think of prayer solely in terms of the words we are using. We so focus on the conversation that we miss out on the person with whom we are talking. At his family meals (what he considers his family’s “best times”) no one is working on the conversation – it flows out of their love for one another. Miller says,
Oddly enough, many people struggle to learn how to pray because they are focusing on praying, not on God. Making prayer the center is like making conversation the center of a family mealtime. In prayer, focusing on the conversatin is like trying to drive while looking at the windshield instead of through it. It freezes us, making us unsure of where to go.
(pg. 20)
I met with some young men at our church yesterday, and as we shared how we could be praying for one another I told them one area to always pray for in my life is prayer. They lifted me up yesterday and God is already coming to my aid through Miller’s book. If you don’t have it, get A Praying Life
I am the Lead Pastor of Redeemer Fellowship; husband to Jen; Dad to Katherine, Elias, Madeline, and Kilian. If you're in town you can probably find me in the local coffee house or running through the neighborhoods.
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Appreciate the sharing and insight of your blog. books, such as Miller’s, are wonderful helps. I want to share with you other helps for praying off of our free downloads from Broken Before the Throne:
http://www.brokenbeforethethrone.com
The sermons and teachings are set to help and direct us in praying rightly.
God bless
Until,
dan
Joe,
Thanks for this. I have this book on my stack to read. Looks very good.
Man..I need a new reading plan!
Thanks for the helpful post. I needed the reminder.
I’m definitely going to have to look into getting this book. Thanks for the post.
Joe, I follow you on Twitter. This is a great post. I would also reccomend an awesome book titled “The Art of Listening Prayer” by Seth Barnes (www.sethbarnes.com_ Here is a link to the book if you are interested. It is a man’s devotional (short chapters with challenging applications..)http://www.missionsresources.com/product/12.htm
Thanks for your posts.
When it comes to my personal prayers I think I am on target with what he is saying – most of the time anyways. It’s in corporate prayer or when I am praying for someone out loud that I tend to fall back on cliches and lose that familiar voice that I use in private. Does his book speak to that in any way?
I’ve been unable to get away from the quotes all day. I’m going to look for this book. Thanks.
I was struck by the same quotes, Joe. THis is one of the most down to earth, helpful, gospel-centered books on prayer I’ve read!
Agreed. The most helpful books for me in prayer so far have all been puritan. I love that I now have something modern, solid and practical to give to our people.
I think sometimes we seek out an experience or feeling in order to validate the reality of our prayers. We convince ourselves that we need something tangible to point to in order to find reassurance that our prayers are heard and our time was authentic. I know that I have been guilty of this. It is a lack of faith in an area that I find difficult (and yet extremely edifying when I commit myself to it consistently). I’ve been wanting to pick up this book since it came out. Thanks for reminding me why.
Miller’s book has been rocking me. A weak prayer life has always been one of my greatest weaknesses. The section that addresses cynicism was just what I needed to hear. There is also a part in the middle of the book that has some profound insights into prayer in marriage. Love it!
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