Book Review: A Praying Life by Paul Miller

This is a truly excellent book on prayer. I was struck most by how “real” it was- tackling the most basic struggles we face in praying, particularly in our fast-paced, post-modern world. And then giving practical solutions to progress forward into a rich life of prayer. He talks frankly about distractions in prayer, the effect of our cynicism on prayer, why we find it hard to trust God, and how far we’ve strayed from coming to Jesus as a child. He does an excellent job of using stories from his life to illustrate principles but ultimately roots everything in scripture. Nearly a dozen times while reading about some (bad) tendency he has in his own prayer life (or life in general), I wrote “That’s SO me!” in the margins. I really appreciated the raw honesty and transparency of this book. At the end he devotes several chapters to describing practical tools to help in your prayer life: prayer cards, prayer journaling, listening to God, and learning to become aware of the stories God is weaving. Wherever you are in your walk as a Christian, your prayer life will undoubtedly benefit from reading this book.