Becoming A Person Of Prayer

Men wanting to develop or improve their prayer lives will find a fresh and workable approach to prayer in Becoming a Man of Prayer. Based on a seven-week model, this book moves men from five minutes of prayer every day to a half an hour of time spent alone with God. Using a notebook approach, it examines typical problems surrounding prayer and offers a proven strategy for developing a lasting prayer life.

In this book, Craig offers practical biblical answers to show how to pray powerfully and well for oneself and for others. This volume is an excellent, well-organized guide to prayer for personal spiritual growth or for group study. (Christian)

How is your prayer life? Or how do you want your prayer life to be? Does praying satisfy your heart's desire to connect with God? Does God hear your prayers, or do they bounce off the ceiling? Do you want to make God happy? Chris Craig believes every Christian can learn to pray effectively. In this book, he offers practical biblical answers to show how you can pray powerfully and well for yourself and for others. Prayer shaped the life and work of Jesus Christ, and prayer is vital to developing and maintaining an intimate relationship with Him. Join Chris as he leads you to become a person of prayer. Becoming a Person of Prayer is an excellent, well-organized guide to prayer for personal spiritual growth or for group study. Chris Craig is the senior pastor of First Baptist Church in Ruston, Louisiana. He is married to Cindy, and they have three children: Jason, Julie, and Alicia. Chris and Cindy are also the proud parents of Crunch, a Boxer, and Pebbles, a Rottweiler. Chris earned his Bachelor of Science Degree from Union University in Jackson, Tennessee. He earned a Master of Divinity from Southwestern Seminary in Fort Worth, Texas, and a Doctor of Ministry Degree from Midwestern Seminary in Kansas City, Missouri. He has been in the ministry for over twenty years now. Chris pastored three churches in Texas before coming to Ruston in January 2003.

If we're honest, most of us feel bored, distracted, or discouraged in prayer. We look for resources to give us the "right" words or teach us the "right" technique and are disappointed when they don't seem to help. What we fail to realize is that prayer isn't a place for us to be good or right, and it isn't a place for us to perform or prove our worth. It's a place for us to be honest, present, and known--a place for us to offer ourselves and receive God. Spiritual formation experts Kyle Strobel and John Coe want to show you what you've been missing when it comes to prayer. In this down-to-earth book, they show you how to fearlessly draw near to a holy God, pray without ceasing (and without posturing), and delight in the experience of being fully known and fully loved. Each chapter ends with prayer projects or practices to help you see a difference in your prayer life, starting now.

Powerful modern insights from ancient wisdom revealing the heart and mind of a man after God's own heart.

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER “A smart, wise, often side-splittingly funny master class in seeking God. Any spiritual seeker—from atheist to professional religious—will cherish this bravura tome from one of our great spiritual guides, in the lineage of C. S. Lewis, Henri Nouwen, Thomas Merton, Gandhi, and Mother Teresa. Hallelujah & amen!”—Mary Karr, author of Lit and The Liar’s Club One of America’s most beloved spiritual leaders and the New York Times bestselling author of The Jesuit Guide to (Almost) Everything and Jesus: A Pilgrimage teaches anyone to converse with God in this comprehensive guide to prayer. In The Jesuit Guide to (Almost) Everything, Father James Martin included a chapter on communicating with God. Now, he expands those thoughts in this profound and practical handbook. Learning to Pray explains what prayer is, what to expect from praying, how to do it, and how it can transform us when we make it a regular practice in our lives. A trusted guide walking beside us as we navigate our unique spiritual paths, Martin lays out the different styles and traditions of prayer throughout Christian history and invites us to experiment and discover which works best to feed our soul and build intimacy with our Creator. Father Martin makes clear there is not one secret formula for praying. But like any relationship, each person can discover the best style for building an intimate relationship with God, regardless of religion or denomination. Prayer, he teaches us, is open and accessible to anyone willing to open their heart.

If you had time to slow down, you’d notice: You’re more easily distracted lately. You forget the details of your life more often than you used to. You get easily agitated and have trouble resting, even though you’re more tired than you remember ever being. Even your spiritual life is not immune: You struggle to pray, to read the Scriptures, to be still and know that God is God. Welcome to now. Our technology has greatly improved much of our lives, but in the process our brains are being rewired on a daily basis, and our capacity to be centered in our souls, in our lives, is at risk. Brain scientists are aware of this unprecedented change, but the solutions aren’t found in science: They’re found in the ancient practices of the faith. Tricia McCary Rhodes reintroduces us to the classic disciplines of Scripture reading, meditation, prayer, and contemplation, not just as technologies to aid our faith but as tools to keep us focused and mindful in an increasingly disorienting digital age.