Customer Reviews

Prayer That Works

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Jill Briscoe has written more books than many of us have read. She is from England, and she and her husband Stuart (also a prolific writer) live in the Milwaukee area, where her husband is pastor of Elmbrook Church.

Jill and Stuart came to our church this summer and gave a series of talks. Jill talked about prayer, and the material was taken from her book "Prayer that Works". There are LOTS of books on prayer, but this one is really special. Her writing style makes you feel like you're sitting down for a cup of coffee with Jill, and she's just sharing her experiences with you. To be honest, I'm only on the second chapter of this book! I tend to read more than one book at a time, and "Prayer that Works" deserves a lot of attention! Jill has a way of telling stories from her life (often humourous ones at that!) and making them so applicable. You'll remember the story, but even more, you'll remember the point of the story.

There are questions at the end of each chapter, and I highly recommend taking the time to get out a notebook and write down your thoughts and answers to the questions as you go along. You will learn so much more from the book because of it. This book takes some of the lessons from the lives of Elijah and Elisha and applies them to our lives.

A couple of the quotes that really have struck home with me are:
"Learn to pray in the middle of the muddle, or you'll have a muddle in your middle."

"Meet with God without an agenda" - what was the last time you met with God without a "To Do" list for Him? Leave it up to Him what is best!

"We must learn to pray in the dark" - if we wait til things get better, we could be waiting for a long long time!

Jill and Stuart have a radio ministry called "Telling the Truth Ministries." You can go to oneplace.com and then go to ministries and click on "Telling the Truth". That way you can listen to some of Jill and Stuart's radio messages. if you have heard Jill speak, when you read her books, then you can "hear" her voice as you read the book.

Thank you and God bless you, Jill and Stuart, for your ministry in books and in radio. This helps people throughout the country (and indeed throughout the world!) benefit from your wisdom about this journey we call the Christian life.

You might want to check out my reviews of Christian books and music. Also, Jill has a new book called "Faith Enough to Finish" about Jeremiah. I have that book in my "to be read" pile, which is growing by the day.

Thank you, Amazon, for this wonderful forum for readers to share their ideas about books they read!

Perhaps you will remember me writing you about another of Jill's books that I have been reading for some time a few weeks ago. It was called The Deep Place. I enjoy her writing and spurring on very much. I picked this book up because I have great respect for Jill's teaching on prayer. I have been moved to tears by her prayers. The title threw me for a loop, but I knew that the teaching in it would be sound. When you read a title like Prayer That Works, it conjures up thoughts of tv preachers assuring you that you can have your best life now. I found nothing of the like in these pages.

I generally arise to meet with the Lord at 6 a.m. I am jealous for my time to sit in listen to His word. This book has been the last leg of my morning quiet time for the past two weeks. I did not read it like I would a normal book because I was caught up in the teaching. I did the Prayer and study at the end of each chapter. It truly helped me to see some things in a way that I had not before and was a challenge to my prayer life. I was moved reading the accounts of Elijah and Elisha. For the first time I really connected to their story in a personal way where I felt like I knew and understood these men. God has used their testimony to overcome many a wall of prayer in my life and deliver me to a desperate place of total dependance. Jill's words stay on task with the truth of the Holy Spirit. You can feel Him teaching and guiding you as you read the words first and second Kings. God is a big God and we barely touch the hem of knowing Him. Let us dig deeper.