Praying: Finding Our Way Through Duty to Delight

by J. I. Packer, Carolyn Nystrom

Overview

Merit Award, World Guild Christian Living Book

Praying is an action.

Praying is an action that is of the essence of Christian existence. It involves our beliefs, emotions, values, hopes and fears, certainties and uncertainties, knowledge and ignorance.

As J. I. Packer and Carolyn Nystrom explain, this book "is a heart-to-heart affair, in which two Christians who try to pray and wish they prayed better share thoughts about what they are doing with people whom they envisage as being like themselves. . . . Our aim is not just to clarify Christian understanding but to foster Christian living. In real praying, head, heart and hands go together." With wisdom, humility and sincerity the authors lead us through different moods of praying, including brooding, praising, asking, complaining and hanging on.

In Praying the authors offer hope for those of us who daydream when we try to listen to God and stumble when we try to speak. Yet they don't just teach us about prayer; they challenge and inspire us to do it by pointing us to a clearer realization of the reality of God and his character. Let Packer and Nystrom come alongside you to encourage and guide your active praying to our powerful God, and let him move your praying through mere duty to delight.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780830833542
Publisher:	InterVarsity Press
Publication date:	03/17/2009
Pages:	319
Product dimensions:	5.50(w) x 8.20(h) x 1.10(d)

About the Author

Carolyn Nystrom is a freelance writer based in the western Chicago suburbs. She has written more than seventy-five books and Bible study guides and served as general editor for the Christian Classics series. Together she and J. I. Packer also authored Never Beyond Hope.
J. I. Packer is Board of Governors Professor of Theology at Regent College in Vancouver, British Columbia. He also serves as contributing editor to Christianity Today. He has authored numerous books including the bestselling book Knowing God.

Table of Contents

Authors' Note
To the Reader
1. The God We Pray To
2. The Path and the By-paths
3. Brooding
4. Praising
5. Prayer Check-up
6. Asking
7. Complaining
8. Hanging On
9. Joining In
10. With My Whole Heart
Postscript to Christians Becalmed in Their Praying
For Discussion and Reflection
Further Reading
Subject Index
Scripture Index

What People are Saying About This

Trevin Wax

"This is not just a book about prayer; it's a book about God. It's not only about technique and practice; it's about the majestic God of the universe who bends his ear to listen to his children and who loves to respond. If you read this, you'll not only learn to pray, but you'll also learn more about the One you're praying to."

Michael Card

"This book is a powerful reminder that through prayer God speaks into our hearts. And if God is speaking, nothing else matters but listening."

Rev. Andrew Simcak Jr.

"There is much to be gained from reading this book! Not only do the authors tell us what prayer is, but also what it is not. They do an excellent job in stressing how we should pray according to Scriptural principles."

Steven Garber

"Over their shoulders, through their hearts, J. I. Packer and Carolyn Nystrom offer windows into the truest prayer, one that allows us into the graces of honestly knowing God. Drawing us into the movement from 'duty to delight,' from what we should do to what we long to do, these wise saints write with humility and insight about the rhythms of the heart that make a life lived in the presence of God—seeing what God sees, hearing what God hears, and feeling what God feels—our very reason for being."

Christian Retailing

"Praying gently pulls readers in with its conversational style, quotations and excerpts from beloved works."

Tom Nelson

"Utilizing the inviting metaphor of a long and invigorating hike, Packer and Nystrom are unusually gifted and trusted guides—not only for experiencing more delightful prayer but also for living a truly formative and flourishing Christian life. As apprentices of Jesus, we are invited to a disciplined and grace-filled journey, one that is well worth the exhilarating climb. I loved this book and highly recommend it!"

Kevin J. Vanhoozer

"If prayer is speaking to God, then one reason people struggle with praying is that they don't know how to speak to strangers. This is why Packer has written a book on prayer that is less 'how to' than a 'to whom' book. In fact, Packer, the 'last Puritan,' has, with the help of Carolyn Nystrom, written a book that is as practically helpful as it is doctrinally sound. Only such a dual approach can do justice to their topic, prayer, 'the essence of Christian existence.'"

Editorial Reviews

"There is much to be gained from reading this book! Not only do the authors tell us what prayer is, but also what it is not. They do an excellent job in stressing how we should pray according to Scriptural principles."

Rev. Andrew Simcak Jr.

Easy is never the word that fits real praying," say evangelical Christian heavyweight Packer and Nystrom, a freelance writer who has penned more than 70 books and Bible study guides. Packer's series of talks on prayer combined with Nystrom's transcription and input blend to create this definitive work that will deepen readers' understanding of a difficult subject. Both authors admit struggles with prayer, which makes their words even more reassuring for Christians who rarely confess to similar wrestlings. The book covers all aspects of prayer: the God we pray to, meditation (what Packer calls "brooding"), prayer checkups, petitions and even corporate prayer. The pair also discuss fundamental questions: why must we praise God? and can we really complain to God? Readers shouldn't expect an easy, breezy read from Packer. Nystrom works to keep Packer's original voice strong, which means deep thinking, even deeper explanations and sentences of some length. His love of history is evident through his many references to C.S. Lewis and church fathers such as Luther and Augustine. The work of reading this book pays off in a much more thorough understanding of prayer, its hindrances and its joys. Study questions for each chapter encourage personal reflection and broader understanding. (July) Copyright 2006 Reed Business Information.

Publishers Weekly

"Over their shoulders, through their hearts, J. I. Packer and Carolyn Nystrom offer windows into the truest prayer, one that allows us into the graces of honestly knowing God. Drawing us into the movement from 'duty to delight,' from what we should do to what we long to do, these wise saints write with humility and insight about the rhythms of the heart that make a life lived in the presence of God—seeing what God sees, hearing what God hears, and feeling what God feels—our very reason for being."

Steven Garber

"Praying gently pulls readers in with its conversational style, quotations and excerpts from beloved works."

Christian Retailing

"Utilizing the inviting metaphor of a long and invigorating hike, Packer and Nystrom are unusually gifted and trusted guides—not only for experiencing more delightful prayer but also for living a truly formative and flourishing Christian life. As apprentices of Jesus, we are invited to a disciplined and grace-filled journey, one that is well worth the exhilarating climb. I loved this book and highly recommend it!"

Tom Nelson

"This is not just a book about prayer; it's a book about God. It's not only about technique and practice; it's about the majestic God of the universe who bends his ear to listen to his children and who loves to respond. If you read this, you'll not only learn to pray, but you'll also learn more about the One you're praying to."

Trevin Wax

"This book is a powerful reminder that through prayer God speaks into our hearts. And if God is speaking, nothing else matters but listening."

Michael Card

"If prayer is speaking to God, then one reason people struggle with praying is that they don't know how to speak to strangers. This is why Packer has written a book on prayer that is less 'how to' than a 'to whom' book. In fact, Packer, the 'last Puritan,' has, with the help of Carolyn Nystrom, written a book that is as practically helpful as it is doctrinally sound. Only such a dual approach can do justice to their topic, prayer, 'the essence of Christian existence.'"

Kevin J. Vanhoozer

"There is much to be gained from reading this book! Not only do the authors tell us what prayer is, but also what it is not. They do an excellent job in stressing how we should pray according to Scriptural principles."

Andrew Simcak Jr.