I recently finished re-reading a book that may well be my favorite book on prayer: The God Who Hears, by Bingham Hunter. I really appreciate the premise of the book that prayer begins with God, not with us. God is the one who draws us to prayer; we tend to see prayer as us coming to God when actually it's Him drawing us into His presence.
Hunter begins where prayer really should begin - with who God is. He deals with several aspects of God's character and how they impact our prayers. He asks questions like "If God is all-knowing, what is there to tell him?" and "How do I relate to a God who is Spirit?" He doesn't shy away from the tough ones, either, like "Why pray to a God who lets people hurt?".
I love Hunter's statement that "Prayer is not a means we use to get what we want from God; it's a means God uses to give us what He wants." Praying well, then, starts with understanding what God wants, and that begins with knowing who God is, what He is like, and having a personal relationship with Him. Hunter makes the observation that God responds not to our words but to our lives.
This book is not light reading, but it's the best perspective on prayer that I've ever read. Hunter's understanding of prayer keeps the believer from falling into "prayer fads"; he rejects formulaic approaches to prayer in favor of a relational approach. This is surely the way God meant prayer to be. Hunter sees prayer not as a separate activity but rather as a pervasive part of an overall relationship with God. If I could recommend one book on prayer for everyone to read, this would be it.
Comments
I just printed out your post - I hope to use it in my seminars (crediting you, of course!),
Phil