The Papa Prayer: The Prayer You've Never Prayed [Hardcover]

Dr. Larry Crabb (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: February 1, 2006

Something new and exciting happened when Dr. Larry Crabb began practicing the four steps of what the calls the PAPA prayer--a revolutionary conversational approach to talking with and enjoying God. In this book, Crabb shares his experience and encourages readers to be drawn into their own journey of prayer.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 224 pages
• Publisher: Thomas Nelson (February 1, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1591454247
• ISBN-13: 978-1591454243
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6.1 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (19 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #821,502 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

60 of 63 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Learn God-obsessed Prayer, July 17, 2006

By 

James John Hollandsworth, M.D. "lightalongthe... - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: The Papa Prayer: The Prayer You've Never Prayed (Hardcover)

I started out pretty jaded against reading this book. I hate it when publishers use tag lines like, "Learn the revolutionary way to talk with God!" and use twenty-five (yes, I counted them, twenty-five!) different endorsements in the front flap to try and convince me how good the book is.

But I had confidence that Larry Crabb has something worthwhile to say when he writes a book, and so I read on.

My confidence was well-placed.

Just as John Piper's heartbeat has been to turn the church toward the glory of God, Larry's heartbeat has increasingly been toward turning the church away from self-obsession to God-obsession, leading us from our "nutty narcissism" to cherishing communion with the Trinity.

In The Papa Prayer Larry calls for our prayer life to change from a little lip service to adoration followed by a continual stream of "Gimme! Gimme!" to something much more wonderful, meaningful, Biblical, and profoundly transforming: prayer that is relational at heart.

He invites us to change our typical stale self-centered paradigm of prayer to honestly Presenting ourselves to God, Attending to our misperceptions of God and letting Him correct them, Purging ourselves of the things that block our intimacy to God, and then finally Approaching God with a purified vision of who He is and who we are and why we come to Him in prayer. (Yes, that spells P-A-P-A, I'm sorry, the acronym is Larry's idea, not mine!)

I'm totally inadequate to try and condense the beauty and power of this book in a few short sentences. This book has humbled me, and changed my prayer life into something much more pleasing to God and much more enlightening and transforming to my soul.

19 of 22 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Eureka!, August 7, 2006

By 

A. J. Smith "Pastor Art" (St. Petersburg) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Papa Prayer: The Prayer You've Never Prayed (Hardcover)

I can not recall how many books I have read on prayer-this book is absolutely the best. It accurately/scripturaly protrays the "relational" aspect of prayer. It reveals with vivid illustrations the "father heart" of God. The "atmosphere" that this book creates changes prayer life from a perfunctory duty to a privliged joy. Could not have enjoyed it more!

25 of 30 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Relationship-changing prayer, March 10, 2006

By 

Brenda Branson (Hanson, KY United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Papa Prayer: The Prayer You've Never Prayed (Hardcover)

I'm so thankful for the way God speaks through Larry. I believe this book comes straight from the heart of God who desires relationship more than sacrifice.

I especially liked the "Special Word to Women/Men" at the end of the book and the simplified steps: "Stand in your red dot." "Stand before the God of the Bible." "Stand naked before holiness." "Stand before God as a loved child."

Great work, Larry! This is a life-changing book that replaces the boring, guilt-inducing methods of prayer taught in so many churches (as well as the "abra cadabra" magical formulas and arrogant, demanding "blab it and grab it" mantras) with honest intimacy and child-like dependence on Papa. Perhaps the songwriter understood the concepts of the PAPA prayer so many years ago when he wrote: "What a privilege to carry everything to God in prayer."

This is a book we will recommend wholeheartedly to all our colleagues and fellow travelers.

Brenda Branson
BrokenPeople.org