PRAY BIG:
Learn to pray like an apostle
By Alistair Begg
The Good Book Company. 112 pages. £7.99
ISBN 978 1 784 983 369
In his book Pray Big, Alistair Begg tells us he wants to pray bigger and better prayers. And he wants the same for his readers too.
He contends that much of the time Christians do not know what we should pray for; not only do we easily forget who we are praying to, but when we do pray, we do not really know what to say.
He suspects that our prayers are so often for material things (which he says are conspicuously absent in Paul’s prayers), or are deeply unimaginative. He particularly excoriates the ‘be with so-and-so’ kind of prayer. Ouch.
He helpfully acknowledges that ‘all matters can be brought before God’ but suggests that ‘what we bring before God is not always what matters most’. And he points out this is no less the case for pastors: the great missionary Henry Martyn once quoted Charles Simeon saying in a sermon that ‘it was easier for a minister to preach and study five hours, than to pray for his people for one half hour’. And so the question Begg asks is: ‘How big are your prayers?’
Praying by example
Perhaps part of the problem for some of us is that although we hear our church leaders preaching, we do not often get to hear them praying. But think about this: in the New Testament, we get to hear Paul pray. What a thought.
So this book takes some of Paul’s prayers and considers how we can learn from them today. It is a brief, yet rich and profound reflection on Paul’s prayers for the Ephesian church. After a couple of introductory chapters, the book teaches us what to pray for by reflecting on some of Paul’s concerns in Ephesians 1:15-23 and 3:14-21. The chapters cover these themes: we should pray for focus (spiritual sight), hope, riches, power and love. The final chapter explores the confidence we can have because of the work of the Spirit in our lives and the immeasurable power at work in us who believe.
The book is written for any Christian who is serious about praying in a biblically informed way. It has eight brief chapters, which are designed to be read one a week. It reminded me a little of reading A Call to Spiritual Reformation by Don Carson, but it is much narrower in its scope and briefer in its content: ideal for someone who wants a refresher or an introduction to what to pray.
Perhaps the argument that our ‘be with…’ prayers are to be dispensed with is overstated (the fact that something is promised to us is not really a reason not to pray for it, but can actually be seen as a grounds for prayer), but the basic critique is spot on.
In summary, I found the book insightful, heartwarming and motivating. I really recommend it.
