July book review…and I actually read one!
Here we are already into a new month.
So, of course, we will kick it off with the July Book Review. And I actually read a book. A real one; adult version and everything.
This one was pulled out of the sharing library that stands outside our YMCA. The title grabbed my attention, but I did check the back cover and endorsements and read with a heart asking for discernment, since I was unfamiliar with the author.
There were no red flags. I felt this held true to Scripture and was solid in all the aspects of prayer and faith.
Talking with My Father by Ray C. Stedman is, as the subtitle suggests, completely based on Jesus’ teaching on prayer. It is not an expansion of the disciples request for Jesus to teach them to pray and the resulting Lord’s Prayer, as we call it.
This book is divided into three sections. The first section includes chapters on the why, nature, example of of Jesus, pattern of prayer and making prayer personal. The second section talks about the certainties of prayer, praying together and the role of the Holy Spirit in our prayer life. The third section covers what the author considers to be the true Lord’s prayer given in the Garden of Gethsemane.
In the last section, using John 17, Stedman provides several closing chapters on what we can learn about relational prayer with our Father, unity in the Body and how Jesus prays for us.
I marked many passages in this book to return to for reflection and meditation and, yes, to pray. The author ends every chapter with a short prayer, and many of these are highlighted in green for me to go back to.
Here is a portion of a prayer near the end of a chapter where he talks about our promise of the indwelling of the Spirit when we receive Christ. He points out, and I can attest to this in my own life, that while the Holy Spirit is in us and we are sealed when we receive Christ, we can live without accessing His power and without understanding what it is to be surrendered to Him completely.
In this chapter, Stedman calls it “borrowing” Christ’s character, personality, power, and standards. You will see that wording reflected in the passage I have selected:
Align our lives with your eternal life. Teach us to act your activity, borrowed only from you. Teach us to pray by your authority, borrowed only by you. Fill us with yourself, your Spirit of truth, your personality, borrowed only from you. Help us to make ourselves fully available to you in prayer and in daily action, so that we may know the fullness of the glory of these promises fulfilled in our lives.
We ask this in Jesus’ name, amen
Talking with my Father: Jesus Teaches on Prayer, Ray C. Stedman, Discovery House Publishers, 1997; Pg 139
highly recommend this book. I feel like I am always asking for mentors for my prayer life and often they come from authors like this. Here is a link to order. I do not get any compensation from this. It looks like this is the large print version – I didn’t have that so not sure what it looks like. Also it appears you can get on Kindle for 99 cents!
https://www.amazon.com/Talking-My-Father-Teaches-Prayer/dp/1572938226I