PRAYER
Steps to a deeper relationship
By Henry French. Bible Reading Fellowship. 160 pages. £6.99
ISBN 978 1 841 018 614
This book addresses questions of how, what, where and when to pray, aiming to ‘lead you closer and closer to the heart of God if you follow it faithfully and patiently’.
Different types of prayer, including the Lord’s prayer, praying for yourself and others, and meditative / contemplative prayer, are discussed. For each chapter there are questions for reflection, journaling suggestions (a major emphasis throughout the book) and ‘ideas for practice’.
The author stresses that it isn’t ‘one size fits all’ or a set of steps that must be followed exactly to lead into a deeper relationship with God. Rather his advice is offered as suggestions: ‘take what works and leave behind what doesn’t’.
Reading the book doesn’t leave you feeling condemned or a failure. It is non-threatening, easy to read and encourages you to stop regularly and actually pray.
However, the book contains a range of biblical wisdom, helpful advice, confusing thoughts and unbiblical, incorrect ideas and the problem is differentiating between these categories. My sense of disappointment grew as I read.
Praying about our sin (surely our biggest barrier to a deeper relationship with God) is dealt with only weakly. None of Paul’s prayers are used as examples, but instead French draws on such prayers as the Buddhist ‘prayer of loving kindness’ or St. Francis of Assisi’s example of thanking God for ‘brother butterfly, sister rabbit, brother tree, sister moon’. The biblical basis for these and other ideas (such as lighting candles, ringing bells, bowing to or making the sign of a cross before praying, having an altar with religious icons to help you focus on encountering God) was at best limited and could be especially unhelpful and confusing for new or undiscerning Christians. Consequently I would be hesitant to recommend this book to anyone.
Vikki Manson,
West Street Baptist Church, Dunstable
