This small volume has appeared on a number of Christian reviewers' accounts in the last while, so I was glad to find Praying the Bible by Donald S. Whitney at a used bookstore recently.
Book Synopsis
When you pray, does it ever feel like you’re just saying the same old things about the same old things?
Offering us the encouragement and the practical advice we’re all looking for, Donald S. Whitney, best-selling author of Spiritual Disciplines for the Christian Life, outlines an easy-to-grasp method that has the power to transform our prayer life: praying the words of Scripture. Simple, yet profound, Praying the Bible will prove invaluable as you seek to commune with your heavenly Father in prayer each and every day.
Source: Amazon
Book Thoughts
This short book didn't take long to read through and if you take the mindset of someone who is new to praying or seeing the Psalms as a book to be prayed, this is a helpful resource as it is lays out the steps in a practical manner. Though not everyone requires a structure when praying, it does remove one further thing to figure out for those trying this process out for the first time. While not a lengthy tome on prayer, it may be an unintimidating book to pass on as part of the discipleship process as it answers frequently asked questions and dispels some of the concerns that people may have about praying for long periods of time.
I recognize that some have questioned why this book exists as the very beginning is fairly repetitive. I actually took that to be a literary device at first to show how tedious it is to read or listen to something that keeps repeating itself, but perhaps that was not the intention of the author – even if it was slightly effective at reinforcing the message about adding diversity to our words. Other reviewers have pointed out concerns about the practice of reading into Scripture, that is, eisigesis; however, I admit that this did not cross my mind while reading the book as I saw the Psalms treated as more of a prompt for prayer rather than a praying person's interpretation into the Psalms themselves. If this is not the case and the book communicates it differently, I do wish to be aware of that. While biblical interpretation is certainly a matter of gravity, I viewed Praying the Bible as an introductory and pragmatic way to help believers pray the Psalms and other books of the Bible if they haven't done so before. This is a resource that I would have loved to have on hand while working in discipleship programs as it's not complex, and it gives assurance to readers that prayer doesn't have to be onerous. It can instead be a joy, especially given that actual practice is strongly recommended as part of the reading experience.
Book Summary
- Format of book: 📖
- Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐
- Recommendation: 👍
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