While I have never met Paul Miller, I can honestly say he has become a mentor for life. He has stirred my prayer life in ways I didn’t know were possible. Mind you, my prayer life has been vigorous for almost a decade, since God came knocking back in 1993 and introduced me to a whole new way of communicating.

“Many people’s frustrations with prayer come from working on prayer as a discipline in the abstract. You don’t experience God; you get to know him. You submit to him. You enjoy him. He is, after all, a person.” (21)

Miller takes us on a journey with God by our side. He opens his life in the process, speaking from the pain in his life and how he simply talked with God through it all. In this journey, he draws us along, sharing his successes and failures, and most of all, his friend, the God of the universe who cares about every detail of our lives.

He has a format to the book: Learning, Living, Praying.

• Part 1: Learning to Pray Like a Child. “Come overwhelmed with life. Come with a wandering mind. Come messy.” (33) These words bring hope and tell us to stop pretending before God. We are simply to touch our father’s heart with our simple honesty and transparency. This means asking like a child – something many people have a very hard time doing in prayer. Citing the Apostle Paul, he encourages us to follow his “ADD praying” which Miller feels is all over the map. We need to develop a play-like quality to our prayers. He shows us how.

• Part 2: Learning to Trust Again. This section is all about following Jesus out of cynicism and developing an eye for Jesus. “To be cynical is to be distant. It leads to creeping bitterness that can deaden and even destroy the spirit. A praying life is just the opposite. It engages evil. Prayer is feisty. Cynicism, on the other hand, merely critiques.” (79) Helping us move away from our pharisaical whining, Miller encourages us to hope again – from the heart of God. Again, we are called to cultivate a childlike spirit and, also, a thankful spirit. All of this moves us to repentance, which allows us to develop an eye for Jesus. Humility makes us disappear and allows Jesus to appear, as he works in and through our life situations and the people we encounter. (God is ALWAYS at work around us!)

• Part 3: Learning to Ask Your Father. Why is it so hard to ask Jesus for things? Much of this has to do with our practical theology of a personal God. No, not our theological statement, our personal, life application, of that issue. Reminding us that David called God, “my shepherd,” Miller challenges us to rethink our lifestyle of prayer. He does this by stretching us with the extravagant promises of Jesus about prayer. Miller wants us to deal with what Jesus actually said, not what some commentator opined. I was struck by this statement: “Learned desperation is at the heart of a praying life.” (117) How many of us are desperate for a fresh encounter with God and weary from the unrelenting onslaught of life? All of this is focusing on the bottom line issue concerning prayer: He is King and we need to submit to him in order to enjoy the abundant life he promises. “At the center of self-will is me, carving a world out of my image. At the center of prayer is God, carving me in his Son’s image.” (156) Losing control of life and returning it to the Father is what makes prayer a joy once again.

• Part 4: Living in Your Father’s Story. This section is most valuable as it returns perspective to our prayer lives. Using the imagery of the story, Miller calls us to imagine that we are a part of God’s unfolding story. This counters most of 21^st century humanity’s script, for in their version, they are the star and God is an extra. The author shows us how God places us in his story of life and how we can have hope, because he has already told us the end of his story! Miller reminds us of the heart that doesn’t comprehend the Father’s story – his list sounds like the average pastor’s counseling load! (Bitter, angry, aimless, cynical, controlling, hopeless, thankless and blaming.) Then he shows how living inside God’s story for life changes us. When we have his story for our life, we are waiting, watching, wondering, praying, submitting, hoping repenting and thankful. He demonstrates how we can live life in God’s story.

• Part 5: Praying in Real Life.  Wrapping the book up Miller talks of prayer tools – prayer cards, journaling, and such. He is quick to remind us that prayer is not about the tools, it is an interior journey. It involves real-life praying. And most of all, Miller points out that our stories are unfinished, hence the motivation to keep in constant contact with God.

A Praying Life is surely one of the best books on prayer in the new millennium. It is heart-filled and heart-felt. Not preachy, Miller pulls the curtain back on his own journey and allows us to learn from him. This is definitely a book I will read every year. I would highly recommend this book.

Details:

·  Paperback: 288 pages

·  Publisher: NavPress (May 15, 2009)

·  Language: English

·  ISBN-10: 1600063004

·  ISBN-13: 978-1600063008

Dr. Matthew Lee Smith

As a pastor, university professor, leadership consultant and author, I have been dedicated for over three decades to proclaiming the gospel and Encouraging Achievement in Godly Leaders by Emphasizing Servanthood (EAGLES). As founder and executive director of Eagles In Leadership, I have taught leaders and followers of Christ across North America and Israel, as well as touching lives around the globe through blogs, interviews and the Transformed! podcast, hosted by Farpoint Media. I love good books, Starbucks coffee, cooking, and walking through live with ‘the joy of my eyes,’ Melodee Joy, my wife.  My newest book is Growing Missional Leaders, Biblical Strategies to Reach Your World for Christ. You can follow me on Twitter and on Facebook.