The Transforming Power of Prayer: Deepening Your Friendship with God [Paperback]

James M. Houston (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 1998

PRAYING IS KEEPING COMPANY WITH GOD. "Prayer is a matter of theology and ethics, both thinking and doing," writes James Houston. " It is profoundly guided by what we believe and how we believe." How we pray is deeply determined by how we perceive God.

But no matter how we see God, prayer is something that seems to come only with difficulty. We tend to view prayer as a rigorous discipline or a required spiritual exercise. Houston wants us to see that prayer is simply keeping company with God.

The Transforming Power of Prayer closely examines the true nature of prayer and helps us view prayer not as a dreary exercise or a skill to be mastered, but as a valuable chance to deepen our friendship with God-and be transformed in the process.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

JAMES HOUSTON was the founding principal and chancellor of Regent College in Vancouver, British Columbia, and is now professor of spiritual theology there. A graduate of Edinburgh University and Oxford University, he taught at Oxford's Hartsford College for twenty-five years. He is also the author of I Believe in the Creator (Regent College Bookstore) and the editor of Classics of Faith and Devotion (Bethany). Dr. Houston lives with his wife, Margaret, in Vancouver, BC. They have four children and nine grandchildren.

Product Details

• Paperback
• Publisher: Navpress Publishing Group (September 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1576831183
• ISBN-13: 978-1576831182
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.4 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,053,204 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent Spirtual Direction in Book Form, May 13, 2004

By 

Chip Webb (Fairfax Station, VA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Transforming Power of Prayer: Deepening Your Friendship with God (Paperback)

The Transforming Power of Prayer feels like it was written by a spiritual director. There's a good reason for that -- Houston is an academic who has made Christian spirituality his specialty. His love for the subject matter shines through. This book truly takes a spiritual direction-type approach as opposed to, say, a Biblical study approach to prayer.

Be warned: This is a dense, meaty book. Houston has a lot of wonderful things to say, but you can't just zip through this book. You need to chew on what Houston writes and let it sink into you. My favorite chapter is on contemplation and how it differs from Biblical meditation.

This is the second best contemporary book I have read on prayer; only Richard Foster's Prayer: Finding the Heart's True Home surpasses it.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A transforming friendship, May 16, 2002

By 

Peter Santucci (Lebanon, OR United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Transforming Power of Prayer: Deepening Your Friendship with God (Paperback)

One of the very few recent books on prayer worth reading, Houston's book (formerly titled "The Transforming Friendship") presents prayer as a friendship with God that is personally transforming. Not a touchy-feely friendship and not a self-help transformation, this is the core of the Christian life. Filled with personal and biblical reflections, Houston also draws on his comprehensive knowledge of early church mothers and fathers in this rich book.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Transforming, April 27, 2001

By 

R. Michael Friends (Round Rock, TX USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Transforming Power of Prayer: Deepening Your Friendship with God (Paperback)

This book, The Transforming Power of Prayer; Deepening Your Friendship with God, examines the nature of prayer and how we can come to know the love of the Father through our sustained effort and discipline in prayer. Houston emphasizes that Christian prayer is prayer to the Father, through the Son, by the Holy Spirit. Christian prayer is guided by our right living and right thinking, and true praying means living in a way that is acceptable to God. Each of the fourteen chapters opens with a quote or two from notable theologians, and each chapter ends by quoting a prayer from a theologian. I found it frustrating that these quotes, as well as several statements in the book, were not accompanied by footnotes or references of some kind. Even to give Scriptural references would be helpful. More references would make it easier to pursue further many of the great thoughts that Houston presented. I found much of this book repetitious, and often rambling in places. Still, I found much of Houston's book insightful. I liked chapter four, Entering into Prayer, especially his views on how prayer removes the alienation against God that sin brings into our lives. Prayer works to destroy the evils of sins by uniting us with God, the one person who can save us from the evil that invades our hearts. Prayer is a spiritual warfare against temptations and evil tendencies. I also particularly like sections of chapter twelve, Prayer by the Friends of God, where Houston gives a good definition and contrast between meditation and contemplation. Houston points out throughout his book that prayer is called fourth by the Fathers love, made possible by the grace of Christ, and in union with the Holy Spirit. Prayer than, as the title of the book suggests, is a transforming friendship with the Father, Son and Holy Spirit.