Praying With Jesus by Adriel Sanchez Book Review

About the Book:

In Praying with Jesus, Adriel Sanchez explores the most famous prayer in history, the Lord’s Prayer, and gets to the heart of each thing Jesus told his disciples to pray for. 

Using the Lord’s Prayer as a framework, he unlocks the mystery of prayer, helping readers understand what prayer is, how to navigate the challenges of prayer, and how to form a habit of prayer. Sanchez points the way to how the Lord’s Prayer helps us better grasp the essential truth that we are not meant to try to navigate life in our own strength and wisdom.

Readers will learn that the daily practice of praying based on the Lord’s Prayer transforms them—giving them insight into God’s purposes, bringing the presence of God into lives, and helping to unearth treasures of grace.

• Considers some of the reasons behind an inconsistent prayer life and helps cultivate a consistent habit of prayer.
• Guides readers into union with Christ that is only possible through the daily practice of praying with Jesus.
• Each chapter ends with a prayer from the past, so readers can pray along with our family in Christ throughout the ages.
• Includes a foreword by Michael Horton. 

You can watch the book trailer here.

My Review:

In the first part of this book, Sanchez explores what prayer is and some of the challenges we may encounter when we pray. The second part contains teaching on each of the petitions in The Lord's Prayer.

I like that Sanchez reminds us true prayer is from the heart. He cautions us to watch out for hypocrisy and superstition. He writes about the use of our bodies and what the different positions in prayer indicate. He cautions us to not just go through the motions. He also encourages us in the frequency of prayer and the use of aids, such as written prayers.

Communication is so important in relationships and this book helps us understand how to communicate with God from the heart using The Lord's Prayer as a framework. I like the addition of a written prayer from history at the end of each chapter. There are also exercises to incorporate the teaching in the chapter and discussion questions. This is a good book for new Christians looking for teaching on prayer and seasoned Christians looking to renew their prayer life. It would be a good choice for small groups.

My rating: 4/5 stars.

 

About the Author:

Adriel Sanchez, MA, is the pastor of North Park Presbyterian Church and host of Core Christianity Radio, a daily live Bible Q&A radio broadcast. He is the author of Praying with Jesus and has also been published in Christianity Today, Modern Reformation Magazine, Tabletalk Magazine, and Credo Magazine. He and his wife, Ysabel, live in San Diego with their five children.

New Growth Press, 144 pages.

I received a complimentary egalley of this book from the publisher. My comments are an independent and honest review.

(My star ratings: 5-I love it, 4-I like it, 3-It's OK, 2-I don't like it, 1-I hate it.)