I love books on prayer. Because of that, I have read mountains of them over the years. It doesn’t take long to figure out which ones are yesterday’s left overs, and which ones I will read over and over again. Peter Lundell has written a book in the latter category. “Prayer Power: 30 Days to a Stronger Connection With God” is a book I will gladly place on my own shelf, and will recommend to others.
Lundell’s intention was to write a book that could be used as a month long devotional, as a prayer guide, or as a teaching tool for someone who wants to “get” prayer. He has chosen what he considers 30 essential facets of prayer grouped in 6 catagories. They are: A Heart after God, A Growing Heart, Internal Helps, External Helps, Winning the Battles, and Moving Out.
Under these 6 catagories he talks about such things as hunger and passion for God – how do we get that? He addresses the issue of our character, and challenges us with the idea that if we want to enjoy a power prayer life, we have to work at it, and face some of our failings that are holding us back. He gives advice on how to listen, who can help us attain our desired powerful prayer life, and how to use discipline in our daily lives to keep us on track.
His last two sections remind us about the battle, and some strategies that will help us win the victory over the enemies Christians face in the world today.
I especially like his last section: Moving Out, because it connects us with the body of Christ. We can pray alone, Jesus tells us our prayers are more effective when prayed with other believers. He gives us the battle call to move out into the world.
Included in “Prayer Power” is a helpful appendix called Growth Gauges and Suggested Activities. For every day of the 30 days chapters in the book he gives us a gauge that encourages us to be honest about where we are at with the day’s subject. The questions are very pointed, and really help us to bring our spiritual condition into the real world.
He then gives projects – topics and questions to journal through, pray through and perhaps deal with in real ways for that day. An example would be from Day 6: Cleaning House. I have to access how well I am doing with confessing and dealing with sin in my life, and on the flip side, how well am I doing with forgiving others? My assignments for Day 6 are
- Name a sin, especially a hidden sin of which you need to repent – then repent.
- If there’s someone in your life whom you need to forgive, do whatever it takes to forgive that person.
I like this book. It is full of stories that kept my attention and illustrated Lundell’s points well. It is practical and helpful, and although it may take you more than 30 days to really go justice to his teaching on prayer, taking his message to heart could really change your prayer life!
Reviewed by Joan Tyvoll
