“Praying Backwards” by Bryan Chapell

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Like most Christians, I have wondered about the proper way to pray is. At times, I have heard the prayers of some of the elder people in my church and then listened to my own and wondered why God would want to hear my ill-formed, 20th century verbiage prayers. There didn’t seem to be enough thees and thous I suppose, but my prayers just didn’t sound as proper as the ones who grew up with only the King James Bible to funnel their thoughts of God. Seriously, those of us who have grown up with modern translations will be less prone to use the older English in our prayers, and many of us are just a bit unsure about the quality of our prayers as a result. We sound so… informal. We long to find someone who will do for us what Jesus did for his disciples on two different occasions. We want to know how to pray.

In “Praying Backwards: Transform Your Prayer Life By Beginning In Jesus’ Name,” Bryan Chapell explains key truths that will clear up many insecurities that you may have regarding prayer. Other examples may include the thought that your request isn’t “important enough” for God to bother with, the thought that prayer is just a way to ask for God to grant your wishes, the thought that you are too deep in your sin to approach God in prayer and so much more. This is a book that not only tackles most of the questions I have had about prayer, it equips me with a sound basis for answering future questions that may come up.

The reason for the unusual title is to insert the end of a prayer into the beginning, at least silently. When you pray in Jesus’ name, you need to understand that you are declaring that the prayer is being offered to the Father by the authority of Jesus for the purposes of Jesus. It’s not unlike a police officer in an old movie telling the bad guy to, “come out in the name of the law.” The bad guy may not come out due to their disrespect of the law, but the law is the foundation for the officer’s authority, not the officer’s own merits. By the same token, the officer doesn’t call the crook out of their hide-out for the pleasure of the officer, but for the purpose of the law itself. So putting “In Jesus’ Name” in the beginning of a prayer serves as a reminder to keep the purposes of Jesus in mind.

As we continue to pray in Jesus’ name, we find that our problems don’t seem so monstrous. They are backdropped by the sovereignty of God, and as we see our prayers answered in ways that are best for us, we learn to pray for God’s glory above our desires. This is because we learn to trust God through our prayers. We learn that His ways are not always our ways, and we discover that His ways are truly superior to the grandest ideas we may have. Each chapter is summarized in a short statement to help the reader apply these truths to their own prayer life and there is a sample prayer included to provide an example based on the theme of the chapter.

“In Jesus’ Name, Amen” is not the spiritual equivalent to “10-4 Good Buddy, Over and Out.” It is the statement that we trust the Holy Spirit to direct our prayers and to alter them to make them worthy to be presented before the throne of the Father. It implores us to remember the glory of Jesus over our own desires. It is our privledge to pray in the name of our savior that is granted to us, that we may be able to present our cares to the Lord with the righteousness of His Son that His perfect will may be performed within us in His time, in His way, for His purpose, in His name, amen.

I cannot heap enough praises on this book, nor can I encourage you with enough zeal to pick up this book and read it for yourself. You will find yourself more ready to pray for all matters large and small and will know that your Father in Heaven is shaping you through His answers.

Further reviews of this book can be found at the Diet of Bookworms.
 

Rolf Ernst

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CoffeeSwirls said:


Like most Christians, I have wondered about the proper way to pray is. At times, I have heard the prayers of some of the elder people in my church and then listened to my own and wondered why God would want to hear my ill-formed, 20th century verbiage prayers. There didn’t seem to be enough thees and thous I suppose, but my prayers just didn’t sound as proper as the ones who grew up with only the King James Bible to funnel their thoughts of God. Seriously, those of us who have grown up with modern translations will be less prone to use the older English in our prayers, and many of us are just a bit unsure about the quality of our prayers as a result. We sound so… informal. We long to find someone who will do for us what Jesus did for his disciples on two different occasions. We want to know how to pray.

In “Praying Backwards: Transform Your Prayer Life By Beginning In Jesus’ Name,” Bryan Chapell explains key truths that will clear up many insecurities that you may have regarding prayer. Other examples may include the thought that your request isn’t “important enough” for God to bother with, the thought that prayer is just a way to ask for God to grant your wishes, the thought that you are too deep in your sin to approach God in prayer and so much more. This is a book that not only tackles most of the questions I have had about prayer, it equips me with a sound basis for answering future questions that may come up.

The reason for the unusual title is to insert the end of a prayer into the beginning, at least silently. When you pray in Jesus’ name, you need to understand that you are declaring that the prayer is being offered to the Father by the authority of Jesus for the purposes of Jesus. It’s not unlike a police officer in an old movie telling the bad guy to, “come out in the name of the law.” The bad guy may not come out due to their disrespect of the law, but the law is the foundation for the officer’s authority, not the officer’s own merits. By the same token, the officer doesn’t call the crook out of their hide-out for the pleasure of the officer, but for the purpose of the law itself. So putting “In Jesus’ Name” in the beginning of a prayer serves as a reminder to keep the purposes of Jesus in mind.

As we continue to pray in Jesus’ name, we find that our problems don’t seem so monstrous. They are backdropped by the sovereignty of God, and as we see our prayers answered in ways that are best for us, we learn to pray for God’s glory above our desires. This is because we learn to trust God through our prayers. We learn that His ways are not always our ways, and we discover that His ways are truly superior to the grandest ideas we may have. Each chapter is summarized in a short statement to help the reader apply these truths to their own prayer life and there is a sample prayer included to provide an example based on the theme of the chapter.

“In Jesus’ Name, Amen” is not the spiritual equivalent to “10-4 Good Buddy, Over and Out.” It is the statement that we trust the Holy Spirit to direct our prayers and to alter them to make them worthy to be presented before the throne of the Father. It implores us to remember the glory of Jesus over our own desires. It is our privledge to pray in the name of our savior that is granted to us, that we may be able to present our cares to the Lord with the righteousness of His Son that His perfect will may be performed within us in His time, in His way, for His purpose, in His name, amen.

I cannot heap enough praises on this book, nor can I encourage you with enough zeal to pick up this book and read it for yourself. You will find yourself more ready to pray for all matters large and small and will know that your Father in Heaven is shaping you through His answers.

Further reviews of this book can be found at the Diet of Bookworms.

Coffee Swirls--for over seventeen years I have been convinced that ending our prayers with "in Jesus name, amen" is terribly wrong. To truly pray in Jesus name is to acknowledge inwardly, with solemn meditation, that in ourselves we are unworthy to enter into His presence; to realize that not on the basis of who we are, or what we have done, but on the basis of who our mediator is and what He has done, we have access to the Father. In other words, we have no right to expect to be heard by the Father in our own name, on the basis of who we are, but Jesus (our Mediator) has graciously encouraged us to come before the Father in His own name, on the basis of who He is, on the basis of what He has done, and on the basis that He is our mediator. What immeasurable grace that He says to us who were by nature children of wrath, "if you ask anything in my name, I will do it!" What a strong foundation the name of Christ is for us as we approach the throne of grace.

Therefore, the preparation of our heart, and the beginning of our prayer should be a meditation upon our own inadequacy and our need of Christ our Mediator to have access to the throne of grace. How arrogant for any man to think that He should have access to the Father in his own name!! It is the same as if he said to the Father, "receive me for who I am. I have no need of the Mediator whom you have graciously provided." The absurdity of a man daring to think he could come before the throne of grace without Him through whom grace and truth came! Therefore "in Jesus name" belongs at the head of our prayer, not as a flippant close without meditation.

I have been careful to express my conviction in this regard on this and other forums for years. Now someone writes a book saying to so pray is to pray backwards. Not only so, but from your review, I gather that this man, whoever he is--I suspect Arminian--would offend the Father by using the name of Jesus upon entering the throne room as if he were commanding demons or hailing a criminal caught in the act. May God have mercy! This is not a matter of demanding "in the name of Jesus." It is a solemn meditation at the beginning of prayer upon our ever present need of Christ our Mediator with the realization that we in ourselves are unfit but, to the praise of the glory of His grace, we have a Mediator who is altogether worthy and upon Him alone we are casting all our hope. I have not read the book you speak of, but your review of it is enough to let me know that I will not waste my money on it.
 
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Rolf Ernst

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tigersnare said:
Eh, Bryan Chappel is the president of Covenant Theological Seminary in St. Louis, he's a far cry from Arminian. In fact he's defending the Historic Reformed interpretations of Paul from the New Perspective proponents in the PCA lately.
I have not read the book, but it reportedly recommends the use of Jesus name wrongly as we draw near the throne of grace--not as humbled supplicants expressing faith and gratitude for access through our Mediator, but as if it were an ocassion for commanding or exorcising demons or hailing criminals caught in the act. That is a gross distortion of the real meaning of approaching the throne of grace in the name of Jesus. I don't care about, nor am I impressed by his scholastic credentials. For many decades the phrase "in the name of Jesuis, amen" has been used flippantly at the close of prayer by Christians as if it were without real signifigance. It is about time somebody began to realize the proper meaning of praying in Jesus name and use it accordingly--whethere you are a high caliber tenured professor or not. Truly praying in Jesus name is a matter of preparing our hearts for prayer with a solemn meditatiion upon our need of Christ our Mediator; the sincere humbling of a heart with praise and gratitude toward God for His grace to us in granting access to His throne of grace through Christ. If the review of that book is accurate, that professor owes the Christian community an apology for misleading instruction and a correcting of his manuscript.
 
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tigersnare

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I guess I'm having a hard time figuring out how you read, " The reason for the unusual title is to insert the end of a prayer into the beginning, at least silently. When you pray in Jesus’ name, you need to understand that you are declaring that the prayer is being offered to the Father by the authority of Jesus for the purposes of Jesus. It’s not unlike a police officer in an old movie telling the bad guy to, “come out in the name of the law.” The bad guy may not come out due to their disrespect of the law, but the law is the foundation for the officer’s authority, not the officer’s own merits. By the same token, the officer doesn’t call the crook out of their hide-out for the pleasure of the officer, but for the purpose of the law itself. So putting “In Jesus’ Name” in the beginning of a prayer serves as a reminder to keep the purposes of Jesus in mind."

and "
It is the statement that we trust the Holy Spirit to direct our prayers and to alter them to make them worthy to be presented before the throne of the Father. It implores us to remember the glory of Jesus over our own desires. It is our privledge to pray in the name of our savior that is granted to us, that we may be able to present our cares to the Lord with the righteousness of His Son that His perfect will may be performed within us in His time, in His way, for His purpose, in His name, amen. "

And came up with this, "
but it reportedly recommends the use of Jesus name wrongly as we draw near the throne of grace--not as humbled supplicants expressing faith and gratitude for access through our Mediator, but as if it were an ocassion for commanding or exorcising demons or hailing criminals caught in the act."
 
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Rolf Ernst

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tigersnare said:
I guess I'm having a hard time figuring out how you read, " The reason for the unusual title is to insert the end of a prayer into the beginning, at least silently. When you pray in Jesus’ name, you need to understand that you are declaring that the prayer is being offered to the Father by the authority of Jesus for the purposes of Jesus. It’s not unlike a police officer in an old movie telling the bad guy to, “come out in the name of the law.” The bad guy may not come out due to their disrespect of the law, but the law is the foundation for the officer’s authority, not the officer’s own merits. By the same token, the officer doesn’t call the crook out of their hide-out for the pleasure of the officer, but for the purpose of the law itself. So putting “In Jesus’ Name” in the beginning of a prayer serves as a reminder to keep the purposes of Jesus in mind."

and "
It is the statement that we trust the Holy Spirit to direct our prayers and to alter them to make them worthy to be presented before the throne of the Father. It implores us to remember the glory of Jesus over our own desires. It is our privledge to pray in the name of our savior that is granted to us, that we may be able to present our cares to the Lord with the righteousness of His Son that His perfect will may be performed within us in His time, in His way, for His purpose, in His name, amen. "

And came up with this, "
but it reportedly recommends the use of Jesus name wrongly as we draw near the throne of grace--not as humbled supplicants expressing faith and gratitude for access through our Mediator, but as if it were an ocassion for commanding or exorcising demons or hailing criminals caught in the act."
There are occasions in which His people call upon the name of Jesus in warfare against His enemies. The writer says "it is not unlike when cops apprehend criminals." BUT his subject matter is praying in the name of Jesus. That, my friend, is a matter of approaching the throne of grace--altogether UNLIKE apprehending thugs. Against the forces of darkness, you COMMAND in the name of Jesus. BUT we are discussing, are we not, approaching the throne of grace? That is not to be in any way compared to any command or demand against forces of darkness. That is a matter of approaching the throne of grace with petitions. As Jesus said, "If you ask anything in my name---" Do you see the difference? Even if you do not recognize it, it IS altogether UNLIKE a cop saying, come out in the name of the law! And it is NOT praying backwards to prepare the heart for prayer by meditating upon our need to approach the Father not in our own name, on the basis of who we are or what we have dolne, but to truly approach the throne of grace in the name of Jesus, on the basis of who He is, what He has done, and in firm reliance on Him as our Mediator. For decades--many decades Christians have WRONGLY failed to prepare their hearts for prayer by first contemplating the necessity of entering into His presence in the name of Jesus. Instead they have wrongly assumed that they are worthy of being received in their own name and they have, as an AFTER THOUGHT, and many times WITHOUT THOUGHT just tacked "in Jesus name, amen." on the end of their prayers. You bow and scrape in front of the professor all you like, but it is high time people began to realize that "in Jesus name" is not most properly used at the close of a prayer. It is to be the preparation of the heart for prayer and the beginning of prayer. How did Jesus direct his disciples to pray? Tell me--what did He say should follow the addressing of the Father? Wasn't it something like "...hallowed be thy name"? And you want to follow some professor who says that is "Praying Backwards"?? I believe my words have been quite clear, and they are in line with Scripture. If you don't believe so, that is a matter you must resolve in your own conscience. I will not discuss the matter any further with you.
 
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tigersnare

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Rolf Ernst said:
You bow and scrape in front of the professor all you like,
Excuse me? What exactly did I say to merit this kind of response from you? You said you were assuming he was arminian, I gave his position to correct your assumption and that is all.


Rolf Ernst said:
And you want to follow some professor who says that is "Praying Backwards"??

I never said I wanted to do any such thing, nor have I read the book, or supported the book.


Rolf Ernst said:
I believe my words have been quite clear, and they are in line with Scripture. If you don't believe so, that is a matter you must resolve in your own conscience.
Who said I disagreed with you? In fact, I have not even chosen a position on this issue, much less state one.


Rolf Ernst said:
I will not discuss the matter any further with you.
With the kind of responses you've given thus far, that is fine with me.
 
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Rolf Ernst

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tigersnare said:
Excuse me? What exactly did I say to merit this kind of response from you? You said you were assuming he was arminian, I gave his position to correct your assumption and that is all.




I never said I wanted to do any such thing, nor have I read the book, or supported the book.



Who said I disagreed with you? In fact, I have not even chosen a position on this issue, much less state one.



With the kind of responses you've given thus far, that is fine with me.
I apologize for my severe tone, but after decades of hearing people close their prayer with the thought that should be uppermost in their mind as they prepare their heart for prayer at its beginning and being grieved by it, I feel like this is an issue worth a spirited struggle, and from the review of the professor's book, he addressed the issue but failed to say what most needed to be said. The review shows that he did say some commendable things about a proper spirit of prayer, but it was what he did not say that hurt: that the meaning of praying in Jesus name is to meditate upon our need of Him as our Mediator and so humbly approach the throne of grace not in our own name, on the basis of who we are or what we have done, but, with praise and gratitude, relying upon His name, who He is and what He has done; casting ourselves upon Him as our all sufficient and only hope in drawing near the throne of grace.

I agree with every statement you made in the quote above. I have been hasty in my words, too ready to criticise from the deep feelings I have had for years on this issue. I've not been fair and patient in my responses. I have done wrong in my haste, and I regret having treated you as I did. That may have stemmed from the fact that the one I was opposing had a position of influence in theological circles; and out of an interest in defending the truth as I see it, I was trying to level the playing field with forceful words; but that does not excuse my improper words. What really hurts is the knowledge that as a professor he probably has the influence to effect the thoughts of many people on this issue, but from the review, I fear that he failed to say what most needed to be said. A position such as he has gives him many opportunities to do good, but it also gives his a position from which he can do much harm to the truth. His statement that praying in Jesus name was not unlike a cop commanding a culprit was altogether contrary to the proper spirit of our approch to the throne of grace. Rather than a spirit of commanding culprits, it should be a heart thoroughly humbled from the realization that despite our unworthiness, Jesus still says unto us, "hitherto have you asked nothing in my name." Ask and it shall be given you. "If you ask anything in my name I will do it that the Father may be glorified in the Son." That is not a recommendation to demand anything. It is an humble beseeching, relying upon the faithfulness of Jesus to always do that which pleases the Father.

The angels announced the heavenward meaning of His coming into the world as "Glory to God in the highest." And as His earthly ministry drew to its close, in the early portion of His prayer, He said, "Father...I have glorified thee on the earth..." by which He summed up His earthly ministry; the motivation of His every thought, word and deed. knowing that He who encourages us to use His own name as we approach the throne of grace is immutable and therefore is always moitivated by the glory of the Father makes us realize that our petitions should always be so motivated. And knowing His faithfulness to the Father gives us assurance that when our prayer has as its motivation the glory of the Father, Jesus will do it just as He said. How unbecoming of us if that motivation does not also characterize our prayer life. After all, the apostle said, "whether you eat or drink or whatsoever you do, do all to the glory of God."
 
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