How to Pray - RA Torrey

Published by Moody Press: Chicago, 1988 (1984).
First published 1900.

A short but challenging book on prayer that I began a while ago, and then picked up again more recently, How to Pray is a loud call to, well, pray! There are moments when Torrey (writing at the turn of the 20th century) leans slightly into semi-legalism - he attacks the idea of Christians going to the theatre, dancing or smoking, for example - but considering the heart of his message I am quite prepared to forgive him this; to call people away from apathy and into a passionate relationship with Jesus will sometimes mean attacking much loved idols!

The word 'passionate' is an apt description for this book. There might not be many 'wow, I never thought of that!' moments, but there are a lot of 'so true!' moments instead. For example, in a chapter on Praying in the Spirit, Torrey writes: "When we feel least like praying it is the time when we most need to pray. We should wait quietly before God and tell Him how cold and prayerless our hearts are, and look up to Him and trust Him and expect Him to send the Holy Spirit to warm our hearts and draw them out in prayer. It will not be long before the glow of the Spirit's presence will fill our hearts, and we will begin to pray with freedom, directness, earnestness and power." (page 48)

Overall, this is a fairly practical book (eg. consider praying in the morning (pg 77), don't forget to pray thankful praises after God has come through (pg 64), that seeks to stir the reader into a deeper prayer life. Moments of dry-ness, but well worth checking out.

Completed 2 September 2024.

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