Customer Reviews

The Papa Prayer: The Prayer You've Never Prayed

5 star:		(14)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

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.

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!

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

This book could truly change your relationship with your heavenly father. Would you like a closer relationship with a Mighty God as dad? It is truly possible but it takes a little while to get your hands around this concept. Read the Book!

Also read "The Rest of The Gospel"The Rest of the Gospel: When the Partial Gospel Has Worn You Out by Dan Stone and David Gregory. It fits like a fine glove with the Papa Prayer. May god bless you!

The PAPA Prayer makes you think about your spiritual life, not in a negative way, but in a way that makes you realize why obsticles have prevented you from receiving all the joys in life that God has for us. It helps to release you from so much self-condemnation for some actions to acceptance and forgiveness of self. I would recommend it to anyone who wants to improve their prayer life.

I am a huge fan of Larry Crabb. I am definitely on the same wave length. The Papa Prayer is one terrific book and I highly recommend it to anyone who really wants to get to the "guts" of prayer. Fantastic!!

The PAPA Prayer by Larry Crabb is an intriguing theological interpretation of the contemporary and traditional prayer. Presenting the reader with four significant guidelines, Present yourself to God without pretense, Attend to how you're thinking of God, Purge yourself of anything blocking your relationship with God, and Approach God as the "first thing" in your life, hence the PAPA, The PAPA Prayer diligently and tactfully guides its readers to an effective and subversive modern style of prayer. The PAPA Prayer is very highly recommended to all Christians searching for a more innovative and creative approach to practicing their faith and their prayers in the coming of a modern age.

If you are looking for a book to take your prayer life to the next level, then this is it. It is simple and easy to read and will help you understand a better relationship with you and God.

Title: The PAPA Prayer by Larry Crabb

Pages: 201.

Time spent on the "to read" shelf: 0 days.

Days spent reading it: 1 week.

Why I read it: My Church had a retreat in November. We used this book as our theme for the weekend.

Brief review: In this book, Larry Crabb talks about how we pray. His main premise is that we often approach God only if we want something. We only use prayer to force God's hand in our lives. Crabb thinks this is not only wrong, but a reversal of how we should approach God. Instead Crabb proposes prayer should first be relational. This book does have a "formula," but Crabb is clearly against us using this prayer as a formulaic way of relating to God. I think he understands this model is only one way we should relate to God. It has its shortcomings, but I think it is pretty solid.

Crabb's proposal is to pray using this acronym: P-A-P-A. Present yourself to God (talk to God openly about where you are at in your life). Attend to how you are thinking of God (is He to provide for me like Santa Claus, or like a loving parent who knows what's best for me?). Purge yourself of anything that blocks your relationship with God (basically confession). Approach God as the "first thing" in your life (remove all other idols, and actually take time to relate with God).

The principles are pretty sound. I like Crabb's plea for us to be honest in our prayer walk. I also like the appeal for us to be relational with God, stop viewing Him as a "Cosmic Santa" (as I read somewhere else) who gives me everything I ask for and think I need. There should be more to our prayer lives than just asking God for stuff (even good stuff).

I do not have anything negative to say about the book. I think it was a helpful way to think about prayer. But I just was not drawn into this book completely. I think I simply might not like the way Crabb writes. He's not terrible, I just am not captivated by his writing. Oh well. My only other beef was with the tag lines on the book cover. They are terrible. "You think you know, but you have no idea. The PAPA Prayer. The prayer you've never prayed." It's a little cheesy, and probably not Crabb's doing, so I won't hold it against him--just his publisher.

I would recommend for anyone who needs to break out of their prayer rut of asking from a list, or someone thinking about how prayer can be more about my relationship with God. Definitely worth a quick read.

Favorite quote: "Efforts to worship God without first getting to know Him tend to reduce worship to mere appreciation when God cooperates with our agendas."

Stars: 3.5 out of 5.

Final Word: Amen.

This is one of the most awesome books I've read. It has helped me in my spiritual walk so much to really know God the Father. Will recommend it to other people who are searching!!