The Prayer God Longs For (Hardcover)

~ (Author)
Key Phrases: Holy Spirit, Lord's Prayer, New Testament (more...)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

The prayer that Jesus handed down to his disciples—known in the New Testament as "The Lord's Prayer"—has a long history of devotion among Christians. White, a pastor and theology professor at Gordon-Conwell Seminary (Embracing the Mysterious God), is obviously a devotee. This clear, thoughtful reflection pores over each phrase in the prayer, honoring the history, context and the embedded theologies found within. White looks at each phrase in order because, as he puts it, "order matters," beginning with us naming and praising the one to whom we pray, then moving seamlessly from God's will to our needs. White advocates that we place "all of life within the context of [God's] governing care," bringing all our hopes and desires to God in prayer. Yet he wisely warns against treating God as a "cosmic errand boy" and speaks frankly about those times that God says either "no" or "not now" to our petitions. And although Christians are fond of a repeated use of the Lord's Prayer in devotion, White recommends that believers go beyond recitation. If modern Christians, like the disciples, want to learn how to pray, he invites them to allow this special prayer to guide their conversation with God. Read as a meditation on prayer, this book can further inform that conversation. (July)
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Product Description

"What does God want from me?" You might ask it in frustration or in devotion, but, whatever your approach, it's a question that has crossed the lips of men and women from every generation throughout human history. What if God gave you an answer? James Emery White guides you through the Lord's Prayer in search of what God longs for in his relationship with you. As profound as it is simple, this prayer of Jesus is what God longs for: a divine-human dialogue that transforms you on earth and prepares you for heaven. Features & Benefits

* Asks and answers the question, "What does God want from me?"

* Ponders the Lord's Prayer

* Offers insights into the character of God and the fruit of his kingdom

* Shows how this prayer transforms you on earth and prepares you for heaven

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 124 pages
• Publisher: InterVarsity Press (July 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0830833277
• ISBN-13: 978-0830833276
• Product Dimensions: 7.1 x 5.1 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 6.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #462,032 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Now I Understand, August 31, 2006

By	Ray McKay Hardee (North Carolina) - See all my reviews

Now I understand the Lord's Prayer from the heart of one who prays it each day. James Emery White has submerged himself in the spiritual disciplines. It is evident that prayer is a high priority for him. He has used God's wisdom and guidance from prayer to act intentionally to bring 1000's of people to faith in Christ. My walk is deeper because of this book. Yours will be too.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Not Simply Declared Holy, but Made Holy, April 8, 2007

By	Kimberly Ann Blevins "Kimberly Ann Blevins" - See all my reviews

James Emery White has written a very balanced book on prayer, referring to the disciples' prayer ("Our Father, which art in heaven...") to frame the essential attitudinal and active elements of "the prayer God longs for"; namely: intimate, expectant, reverent, submitted, dependent, honest, humble.

It takes mastery of any subject matter in order to speak or write concisely about same, and in this regard, the author does not disappoint. With an economy of expression I appreciate, he addresses several questions about prayer that have been troubling me lately, and I feel he has adequately answered my concerns right from scriptures.

For me, the key portion of the entire book is contained in the chapter entitled, "Reverent." On page 42, where the author -- citing Evelyn Underhill -- writes about King David's being "...directed to build an altar to God on Araunah's threshing floor," he notes that Araunah was visited first by an angel, then by King David himself, the latter offering a fair price for the threshing floor. Araunah is overwhelmed at being called upon for something so important with such an intended purpose. He freely gives, not only the threshing floor, but what is necessary to consecrate it unto the LORD. The outcome of Araunah's honor, his reverence? "...the site, for generations of prayers was not simply declared holy but made holy."

Being not simply declared holy, but made holy -- having circumcised hearts and circumcised ears before God -- is necessary to truly praying the prayer God longs for, whether doing so alone or corporately, and to being part of His kingdom come, His will be(ing) done on earth as it is in heaven. Inescapably, we are in a spiritual warfare, and our prayers likewise have eternal consequences, with the potency to affect nations and generations to come.

I especially appreciate the author's expansion of the concept (from Psalm 42) of "deep calleth unto deep," about the silences of God. His explanation (pp. 107-110) resonates with my own understanding of that passage after recently putting that psalm to music and singing it almost daily in my own worship, as well as with the truths covered in a (November 19, 2006) sermon entitled, "The Hesitancy of God," by Pastor R. Kevin Smith of Jefferson, Texas, a key message at the right moment through a chosen vessel of the LORD.

White is clearly a trinitarian, which may put off oneness believers, but I sincerely hope not to the extent that it would prevent the latter from reading and drawing from the riches of this book. References to the trinity are primarily, if not exclusively, found in the first chapter of the book where the author confronts the question of "to whom do we pray?" an area of confusion I have dealt with in my own migration from a lifelong trinitarian persuasion to a much more recent oneness one.

The author delivers on what this book's title promises, and I feel that reading this book has helped me in my desire to pray "the prayer God longs for." I recommend this book to others and am quite interested myself in reading other works by James Emery White.