Prayer: Experiencing Awe and Intimacy with God
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Overview
Renowned pastor and New York Times bestselling author of The Songs of Jesus Timothy Keller explores the power of prayer.
Christians are taught in their churches and schools that prayer is the most powerful way to experience God. But few receive instruction or guidance in how to make prayer genuinely meaningful. In Prayer, renowned pastor Timothy Keller delves into the many facets of this everyday act.
With his trademark insights and energy, Keller offers biblical guidance as well as specific prayers for certain situations, such as dealing with grief, loss, love, and forgiveness. He discusses ways to make prayers more personal and powerful, and how to establish a practice of prayer that works for each reader.
Dr. Keller’s previous books have sold more than one million copies. His Redeemer Presbyterian Church is not only a major presence in his home base of New York, it has also helped to launch more than two hundred fifty other churches in forty-eight cities around the world. His teachings have already helped millions, the majority of whom pray regularly. And with Prayer, he’ll show them how to find a deeper connection with God.
- Provides compelling arguments for the ongoing relevance of Christian belief in society
- Addresses key practical questions all Christians wrestle with in their journey of faith
Top Highlights
“What is prayer, then, in the fullest sense? Prayer is continuing a conversation that God has started through his Word and his grace, which eventually becomes a full encounter with him.” (Page 48)
“With all this in view, we can define prayer as a personal, communicative response to the knowledge of God.” (Page 45)
“To fail to pray, then, is not to merely break some religious rule—it is a failure to treat God as God. It is a sin against his glory.” (Page 26)
“This book will show that prayer is both conversation and encounter with God. These” (Page 5)
“The infallible test of spiritual integrity, Jesus says, is your private prayer life.” (Page 23)
. . . Keller provides a contextually rich guide and companion to prayer.
—Kirkus
[I]f you follow Keller into the arsenal, you will be powerfully equipped to overcome the world/flesh/Devil and see your prayers for kingdom advance answered by almighty God. And if you follow Keller to the banqueting table, you will increasingly feast on new and old treasures of awe and intimacy with your heavenly Father.
—The Gospel Coalition
- Title: Prayer: Experiencing Awe and Intimacy with God
- Author: Timothy Keller
- Publisher: Dutton
- Print Publication Date: 2014
- Logos Release Date: 2016
- Pages: 336
- Language: English
- Resources: 1
- Format: Digital › Logos Research Edition
- Subject: Prayer › Christianity
- ISBNs: 9780525954149, 0525954147
- Resource ID: LLS:PRYRXPRNCNGNTGD
- Resource Type: Monograph
- Metadata Last Updated: 2022-09-30T02:28:16Z
Timothy Keller (1950-2023) was the founding pastor of Redeemer Presbyterian Church in Manhattan, which he started in 1989. For over 20 years, he led a diverse congregation of young professionals with a weekly attendance of over 5,000. He was also president of Redeemer City to City, which plants new churches in New York and other cities. For the last decade, the organization has launched over 200 churches in 35 cities. Logos has collected his sermons in the Timothy Keller Sermon Archive (1989–2011) and Timothy Keller Sermon Archive (2012–2013).
Keller wrote multiple New York Times bestselling books, including The Reason for God and The Prodigal God. His recent work included The Meaning of Marriage: Facing the Complexities of Commitment with the Wisdom of God, Walking with God through Pain and Suffering, and Every Good Endeavor: Connecting Your Work to God's Work. He is also wrote his own commentary and study guide series. Christianity Today has said, “Fifty years from now, if evangelical Christians are widely known for their love of cities, their commitment to mercy and justice, and their love of their neighbors, Timothy Keller will be remembered as a pioneer of the new urban Christians.”
Reviews
2 ratings
Patrick
1/19/2022
I have read a great number of books on the topic of prayer from a number of different time periods. The basic breakdown for each of them has pretty much been 1) prayer is important 2) you should pray 3) pray the breakdown of the Lord's prayer 4) practical and specific examples of prayer. It is very rare that you have an author even discuss what exactly is prayer for more than one sentence to one paragraph. The problem being, that if you struggle with prayer from the basic foundation of a definition it's really hard to grasp even the first rung in understanding it. That being said, Keller's book finally breaks the mold. He covers a large number of items concerning prayer and even starts with a very personal story of his own struggle with prayer. The fact that he says it took him two full years to develop a good prayer life is very encouraging. Of course that also means there wouldn't be anything in the book that would flip a switch and make you a George Müller overnight. The good thing about Keller's writing is that he tends to build upon his chapters. He covers topics like what prayer is but the next chapters go into more depth about it. Chapters 6 and 7 were very important in my further understanding prayer - of course he uses people like Martin Luther and John Calvin really put it into perspective. Reading these excerpts really drove home the need to read things like Calvin's Institutes and other Reformed writings in the future. Keller handles things like the sovereignty of God in relation to prayer (if God is sovereign why should I pray at all). A book that I'm sure Keller uses is A.W. Pink's book on the Sovereignty of God that covers this as well. There are some really helpful application sections of the book in the latter sections. The biggest plus that Keller had going for him was he always kept God in primary focus and was always sure to lovingly hip-check questions that put man at the center of the question. Why? Because this leads to a lot of misunderstandings on the topic and causes issues people might have on the topic of prayer. It was also nice to see that Keller didn't refer to prayer as only a means of changing our hearts and minds as some authors tend to do. Keller does have a few quirks in his book that come out of left field and don't quite fit with the flow. One major one concern an almost metaphysical aspect of prayer in general and a treatment of mystical forms of prayer and almost legalistic forms. Also, while Keller does a descent job of building upon his chapters and themes, there are times when his flow of writing doesn't always hit its mark. This might cause some to almost get lost in what they're reading. Overall, this book helped me immensely. I would recommend it to anyone who is struggling with their prayer life or a new Christian looking to start one. It would also be worthwhile for those who have it down to do a wellness check on theirs to see if they are bionically sound or can improve upon it. While not a tough book in terms of theological terms, this is a book whose reading pace should be taken at a slow pace for good, sanctifying reasons. Final Grade - A
Scott Maze
7/9/2020
