Customer Reviews

Deepening Your Conversation with God: The Life-Changing Power of Prayer (Pastor's Soul)

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Ben Patterson, the Dean of Chapel at Hope College in Holland, Michigan, has written one of the best books on Christian prayer in recent years. It is rich with biblical, theological and practical insights that encourage, educate and equip people at every stage of faith to enter into a deeper knowledge and experience of Christian prayer. What distinguishes Patterson's book from others is that it does not fall into the "pietistic" trap of making prayer a "utilitarian" guide without establishing an excellent biblical and theological foundation for prayer. It also transcends any denominational loyalties, which is rare in many books being written on Christian spirituality or the Christian spiritual disciplines. Any reader will be drawn closer to God as well as encouraged to spend more time engaged in the rich spiritual discipline and tradition of prayer. Patterson gives many excellent illustrations of how people at prayer have transformed history and how prayer actually has the power to transform the "pray-er". I would put this book in a league with PT Forsyth, John Baillie, Eugene Peterson, George Buttrick, Olive Wyon, Richard Foster and others who have written significant works about prayer. It is hoped that this excellent work will find the audience it well deserves.

If there's one thing every Christian should get wrapped around, it's a solid, meaningful, soul-filling prayer life. Yet this is lacking in most of our lives, and mine is really no different. Ben Patterson's book on learning to love prayer has been refreshing and insightful. It offers a look into some deeply personal episodes in the life of a man who has learned by hard experience how critical it is to connect with God in prayer. And we have an opportunity as his readers to learn from his experiences, or at least to prepare ourselves for our own experiences.

Seldom will you read a more honest, open, unabashedly human account of a person's journey toward spiritual maturity. Patterson is not afraid to lay his weaknesses and failings out on the table, or to discuss some things that might make some modern Christians squeamish. But he does it lovingly and at times humorously, with plenty of helpful illustrations along the way. I personally found the chapter on fasting to be of great benefit during one of my own spiritual struggles when I was just beginning to practice this as a spiritual discipline.

If you're searching to find true substance in your prayer life, or if you're looking to take an already solid prayer life to the next level, give this book a try. I think it has something to offer to every believer.

An effective prayer life affects every part of your life and consequently positively influences the lives of other people. In this wonderfully writte book, Ben Patterson couples personal experience with academic study to give an inspiring teaching on prayer.

His teaching is practical. He says prayer is like swimming, that you learn by doing. He talks about the joy and value of being in God's presence. In several places he goes back to the original languages in the Bible to make a point. Consider his explanation of a Christian calling. In Latin "vocare" means "to call", from which our English word vocation comes.

This book is inspiring as well as motivational. Reading it will create the effect the author seeks, to give you a greater desire to spend time with God.

Ben Patterson has written a remarkable book on prayer. Not prescriptive, but instead an insightful and honest look at what prayer is and what it means to both GOD and our lives. As an alumni of Hope College, where Patterson is Dean of the Chapel, I was touched by the grace and candor with which he used his Hope College experience to exemplify his writing. Ben is a treasure that Hope should never ever let go!

I believe this book will be the most help to a believer who has been in the church for many years or whose freshness of relationship with God has waned. This is likely a large segment of many churches and a large percentage of professed Christians. This book is a call to return to the main thing: communion with God. It will prove especially helpful to Pastors, as Patterson shares his experiences as a Pastor as it relates to prayer.

I found myself highlighting and noting many passages in the book. A person who wants to cultivate a life of fellowship with God, Patterson's words on page 51 will be especially helpful . . . "You learn to pray like you learned to swim -- not by talking about it but by getting into the water and splashing around. You relearn prayer in the same way. Prayer is a discipline before it is a joy and it remains a discipline even after it is a joy."

This book came at a time in my life where I was thirsty for God but I was seeking to quench my thirst through knowing more things about God. But Ben Patterson in this book helped revitalize my need for communication with God. This is a book straight from Ben's heart. It is an easy read that took me about two days. This one is definately worth it.

Dont know whether the wavelengths of the author doesnt match with mine or what, though much had been told about prayers, the author's personal experience with it and the importance of it to our spiritual lives, I was not the least moved, impressed, nor could I have my prayers deepened and caught what the author promised in the tagline on the book cover "Learning to love to pray". Certainly, it is quite a subjective judgement, but so are all of our experience with God. I couldnt recall which passages that the author tried to teach me how to love to pray. To me, he just kept on repeating the need to pray, but I couldnt find the "sweetness" in it. If he didnt teach, how could I have learnt?

As a common christian like me who love reading christian books of popular authors like Philip Yancey, Jimmy Carter and Robert Schuller much(I am capable of appreciating sophisticated ones as well, like "Prayer: Finding the Heart's True Home by Richard J. Foster"), I am obliged to warn potential buyers the risk of not enjoying the book at all. In case you really wanna give it a try, I suggest you to borrow it from the library and have a test drive before you commit you money on it.

This is by far one of the most POORLY written books I have ever had the bad fortune to buy. Ben is so pie in the sky that I have absolutely no idea where he is most of the time. At times he gives illustrations that do not appear to go with the topic at all. He also seems to have a love affair with words no one has heard of. I am sure he is a nice guy, but in my opinion, this book misses the mark.