Experiencing Prayer with Jesus

November 28, 2005
With more than one million books in print, bestselling author Henry Blackaby's newest manual on praying efficaciously will no doubt win him continued fame as this text is also being touted as the official 2006 National Day of Prayer book. Blackaby teams up with his son Norman to present readers with a systematic prayer guide, which, though flawed, serves to both educate and challenge Christians' tired ideas of intercession. The Blackabys want to dispel old notions of ineffective prayer and unleash the power of God upon a sinful nation so as to redeem it from itself. Readers will better understand how vital intimate prayer is to a Christian's life and overall ministry, discern and receive God's agenda through some self-evaluation, and adopt a humility-based approach to prayer. Spread throughout this book are personal renderings from both father and son, recounting experiences of answered prayer. Perhaps the most helpful section is the chapter detailing how prayer protects believers from temptation and from falling away. However, most readers will expect more than this cursory overview of prayer techniques. Christians already know that God works through prayer, so to read a mere reiteration of this refrain without providing something more substantive to stimulate fervent prayer is disappointing.