His Way To Pray

A Devotional Study of Prayer

By W. Phillip Keller
Kregel, $5.99

ISBN 0825429935

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Prayer Is God's Idea

Review by Jacquelyn Phillips

In His Way to Pray, well-known devotional writer W. Phillip Keller distills a lifetime of what the Lord has taught him about prayer: what it is and why it's important -- to God and to us. Prayer is a privileged, sincere encounter with the living God who dotes on us with compassion, mercy, and love.

Keller says, "The very essence of earnest prayer is an acute awareness of being in God's presence. . . a powerful, precious encounter with the Beloved." He emphasizes that genuine prayer is a living encounter with the living God in which we allow Him to change us.

Prayer is God's idea, initiated by His love, rooted in His desire to be intimately involved in the lives of His children, and intended to conform us to the image of His precious Son, Jesus Christ. Keller looks at Jesus' prayer life, as well as His teaching about prayer, and derives seven basic forms of prayer: prayers of faith, confession, gratitude, relinquishment, intercession, patience, and stillness before God. Examining each of these prayer types helps us to understand God's heart and His passion for His children; it also instills gratitude and the desire to live a life pleasing to Him.

Keller does not claim to be an authority on prayer, but shares his own struggles. The author's intention and hope for His Way to Pray is that it will "help people come to the living Lord Jesus Christ with the confidence one has in coming to a faithful Friend. . . .[and] to give searching souls an amazing assurance of God's gracious Spirit." And it does.

W. Phillip Keller grew up in Africa, the son of missionaries. He has written more than 40 books, including the bestseller A Shepherd Looks at Psalm 23.