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 didnt seem to be enough thees and thous I suppose, but my prayers just didnt 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 isnt 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. Its 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 officers authority, not the officers own merits. By the same token, the officer doesnt 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 dont 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 Gods 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.