The Power of Praying Together: Where Two or More Are Gathered

Rating:
Summary: Not What I Expected ... But Still Great
Review: After her books Power of a Praying Wife and Power of a Praying Husband, I expected this to be more along the lines of a Praying Couples book. Instead, Stormie went with a look at prayer groups and congregational prayer. This is not a bad thing, in fact I found it an excellent book, but if, like me, you're looking for a book to draw yourself closer to your spouse in prayer, be forewarned that this is not that book. Buy it anyway.

This book spends more time dealing with the subjects of "what prayer is" and "why you should pray" than her other books. It also goes into how to pray and different kinds of prayers (confession, intercession, etc.). If you're a new Christian or haven't had much of a prayer life, this is an excellent book to get you started.

The entire book is great, but my favorite section is where Jack Hayford describes people who pray as lightning rods, acting as the conduit through which God exerts his power on Earth (pp. 91-92). There are a lot of powerful word pictures like that throughout the book; that's just the one that hit home with me.

The only thing I didn't like about the book is that Jack Hayford's comments on prayer are all related in the past tense. Granted, some of them are included as part of actual past events, conversations or sermons, and there it's totally appropriate. Elsewhere, though, the verb tense should have been modified to make them feel more current. It's not a big thing, but it does make his comments feel dated.

As I said before, if you don't know much about prayer or you don't spend much time praying this is an ideal book for you. If you do have a prayer life, but it's grown stale or could use a good goosing, this book is for you, too. I still think "The Power of Praying Spouses" would make a good book, but I'm glad Stormie has written this book as well.