The Hidden Life of Prayer, by David M. MacIntyre, is now available for the Amazon Kindle. This is fast becoming my new favorite book on prayer. The book is a treasure trove of spiritual insights and practical instructions. MacIntyre draws from Scripture, Christian literature and Christian experience to encourage and instruct the believer in the rich subject of prayer. There are also many fine quotations about prayer from across the centuries sprinkled throughout the book’s pages.

But don’t just take my word for it. Here are John Piper’s and Wayne Grudem’s recommendations:

“God brings books at their appointed times. The Hidden Life of Prayer arrived late but well-timed. This little jewel-strewn tapestry has done for me at 64 what Bounds’ Power Through Prayer did at 34. I could be ashamed that I need inspiration for the highest privilege. But I choose to be thankful.”
-John Piper, Senior Pastor, Bethlehem Baptist Church, Minneapolis, Minnesota

“I have read The Hidden Life of Prayer again and again since Westminster Seminary in Philadelphia first gave it to me when I visited there as a prospective student forty years ago. Every time I read this book, the Lord uses it to deepen my prayer life and encourage my faith. I strongly recommend it!”
-Wayne Grudem, Research Professor of Theology and Biblical Studies, Phoenix Seminary, Phoenix, Arizona, USA

You can purchase the book from Amazon or you can get it right here at my website in ePub or Kindle/Mobipocket format. It is also available at Barnes & Noble for the Nook. And remember, you don’t need a Kindle to read Kindle books. Click here for a free e-reader.

Each day of the month, in addition to my prayers for their safety and for the concerns of that day, I also pray for a specific character trait, virtue, or fruit of the Spirit to be planted and nurtured in my children … At the end of each month, I begin praying through the list again, combining traits when the month is shorter than thirty-one days.

Here are the first seven items on Bob’s list.

1. Salvation: “Lord, let salvation spring up within my children, that they may obtain the salvation that is in Christ Jesus, with eternal glory” (Isaiah 45:8, 2 Timothy 2:10).
2. Growth in grace: “I pray that they may ‘grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ’” (2 Peter 3:18).
3. Love: “Grant, Lord, that my children may learn to ‘live a life of love,’ through the Spirit who dwells in them” (Ephesians 5:2, Galatians 5:22).
4. Honesty and integrity: “May integrity and honesty be their virtue and their protection” (Psalm 25:21, NLT).
5. Self-control: “Father, help my children not to be like many others around them, but let them be ‘alert and self-controlled’ in all they do” (1 Thessalonians 5:6)
6. A love for God’s Word: “May my children grow to find your Word ‘more precious than gold, than much pure gold; [and] sweeter than honey, than honey from the comb’” (Psalm 19:10).
7. Justice: “God, help my children to love justice as you do and to ‘act justly’ in all they do” (Psalm 11:7, Micah 6:8).

Be sure to visit Bob’s website for all 31 prayer items complete with Scripture references. (Link: 31 Ways to Pray for Your Children)

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30-Days International produces a “30-Days of Prayer for the Muslim World” Christian prayer guide coinciding with Ramadan each year. The booklet contains daily readings with prayer points, informative background articles, a list of titles for further study and a resource section featuring ministries and services focusing on the Muslim world. There is also a Children’s Edition with quizzes, stories and maps. You can order the 52-page booklet here, or you can sign up for the free email version which is distributed daily during the 30 days of Ramadan. Free pdf versions of the adult and children’s editions are also available for download.

I have signed up for the daily emails and look forward to participating in this prayer effort. If you are a Christian, would you consider participating also? Here is an additional challenge. When you consider that Muslims around the world are committed to fasting and reading through the entire Qur’an this month, how much time will you invest in prayer and reading your Bible?

Note: If you are looking for a good book on how to share the gospel with Muslims, let me recommend Pastor Thabiti Anyabwile’s book, The Gospel for Muslims: An Encouragement to Share Christ with Confidence.

1. Be patient.
2. Preach the word from the pulpit with fervency, clarity and power, and let the prime means of grace do its work.
3. Emphasize the importance of a weekly prayer meeting.
4. Invite a core group of potential leaders in the congregation to study the Bible and pray with you, weekly and personally. Meet as a small group and do a Bible survey, and lead them in prayer. Model for them how to do it. Make them take part and be active participants. Watch the contagion spread among them for the study of God’s word and prayer in the church, homes and their personal lives. Let them become recruiters and encouragers of others to study the word and pray for themselves.
5. In the course of your teaching/preaching the Bible in the local church, spend time explicitly and specifically on explaining why it is important for Christians to study the word and to pray, and how one ought to do it.
6. Get your people to read good books about Bible study and prayer (John Blanchard, “How to Enjoy Your Bible,” Don Carson, “A Call to Spiritual Reformation,” Matthew Henry, “Method For Prayer,” “Ryken’s Bible Handbook,” etc).

Do I hear any amens?

HT: Pure Church

Paul Miller writes about God’s divine story in your life. “If God is sovereign, then he is control of all the details of my life. If he is loving, then he is going to be shaping the details of my life for my good. If he is all-wise, then he’s not going to do everything I want because I don’t know what I need. If he is patient, then he is going to take time to do all this. When we put these all together — God’s sovereignty, love, wisdom, and patience — we have a divine story.”

C. J. Mahaney celebrates the blessing of unanswered prayer. “I want to celebrate unanswered prayer. I want to … thank God for all the prayers I have prayed sinfully motivated, that the Saviour hasn’t answered. I want to thank God that he is sovereign, not sentimental. I want to thank God for all the times when … I have approached the Saviour demanding that he do for me whatever I ask, … that the Saviour’s response was not simply, ‘You don’t know what you are asking’, but that he withheld an answer to that prayer. I am grateful to God for unanswered prayers.”

Apart from God nothing of lasting value can be accomplished:

Therefore I will do the work of the ministry in full dependency on God through the Holy Spirit. In order to bear fruit I must remain in Christ. Apart from Christ I can do nothing (John 15:5). When Paul came to Corinth he did not depend on his own human skills or strength. Instead he resolved to know nothing but Christ crucified and relied fully on the Holy Spirit to authenticate his message (1 Corinthians 2:1-5). The Holy Spirit is the one who gives gifts for ministry. I must depend on him for these gifts if I am to speak as one speaking the very words of God and to serve with the strength God provides (1 Peter 4:10-11). Much of this dependency is demonstrated through prayer. Even Christ in his earthly ministry modeled dependency on God the Father through prayer (Luke 5:16; Hebrews 5:7).

Back to Table of Contents | Next section: The Centrality of Scripture (PTOM 6)

Related post: Church Search

Let me encourage you to participate in this special day of prayer for our nation. Over 40,000 prayer events are scheduled to take place this year across the country — at churches, schools, government buildings and other public gathering places. Some local pastors and I will be hosting an event in Agawam, MA during the lunch hour. To find an event near you, click here.

“Paul Miller refuses to separate the spiritual life from the rest of our daily living. In A Praying Life, he shows the difference that constant communication with Christ makes in the everyday experiences of life, especially the life of the family. Reading this book will help you make prayer a more important part of your own life story by integrating prayer into the daily routines of life.”
 - Dr. Philip Ryken, Senior Minister, Tenth Presbyterian Church

“A Praying Life is a deeply moving testimony to God’s power in prayer. Paul Miller shares his life and biblical wisdom to instill in us, his readers, a “heart that becomes a factory of prayer” – that is, a passion to speak to God honestly and in a way that will change our life and the lives of others for whom we pray.”
 - Tremper Longman III, Professor of Biblical Studies, Westmont College

“Honest, realistic, mature, wise, deep. Warmly recommended.”
 - J.I. Packer, Professor of Theology, Regent College

“Charles Spurgeon wrote, “Prayer does not fit us for the greater works; prayer is the greater work.” Paul Miller’s superb book calls us back to this ‘greater work,’ reminding us of the joy we find in our Lord’s presence and equipping us with practical insight on how to recapture the intimacy and power of a praying life”
 - Ken Sande, President, Peacemaker Ministries

“This is as fine a book on prayer that you will ever read, but it is so much more. It is the story of our struggle to actually live like we believe our Heavenly Father really does love us. If we did, nothing could keep us from being committed to the day-by-day hard work of prayer. Paul exegetes our struggle in a way that is convicting, insight giving, and encouraging. This is a book on prayer that actually makes you want to pray!”
 - Paul David Tripp, President, Paul Tripp Ministries

Related post: The Sin of Prayerlessness Series