Becoming Jesus Prayer

"A strong, vibrant, and insightful book. Here is a wonderful journey into the heart of Christian prayer by passionate practitioners of prayer."--Bishop Will Willimon, North Alabama Conference of the United Methodist Church Becoming Jesus' Prayer invites readers to take a new look at the Lord's Prayer--words so familiar to Christians, yet often muttered without thinking. Each chapter features a story, theological reflection, discussion questions, guidelines for weekly prayer at home and corporate prayer, and hymn suggestions. It also includes a leader's guide, seven sessions for groups, four appendices that include the Lord's Prayer in hymns--as litany and music--and a prayer bibliography. This resource can be used in individual or group settings.

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.

Becoming Jesus' Prayer invites readers to take a new look at the Lord's Prayer em dash] words so familiar to Christians, yet often muttered without thinking. Each chapter features a story, theological reflection, discussion questions, guidelines for weekly prayer at home and corporate prayer, and hymn suggestions. It also includes a leader's guide, seven sessions for groups, five appendices that include the Lord's Prayer in hymns em dash]as many litany and music em dash]a Lord's prayer bibliography, and a prayer bibliography. Can be used in individual or group settings.

Prayer Is Our Response to God’s Invitation. So often we think of prayer as something we do to break through to God—to get His attention and to get Him to listen to us. But intimacy with God is His idea. He has taken the initiative, and prayer is His gift to us. It is an opportunity for us to respond to His invitation to intimacy by calling, crying, and singing to Him. Prayer is our response to the One who has called out to us and desires to be in a relationship with us. In Becoming a Woman of Prayer, Cynthia Heald will encourage you to respond to God’s invitation to deeper intimacy with Him.

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.

"'To pronounce the name of Jesus in a holy way is an all-sufficient and surpassing aim for any human life ... We are to call to mind Jesus Christ as until the name of the Lord penetrates our heart, descends to its very depths ... The Name of Jesus, once it has become the center of our life, brings everything together." So writes the "Monk of the Eastern Church" in the course of the present work. To those who wonder how such claims can be advanced on behalf of the Jesus Prayer, and how it is that this particular way of praying continues to appeal so powerfully to contemporary Christians, Eastern and Western, Orthodox and non-Orthodox, this short book provides an answer. Starting with the veneration of the Holy Name in the Old and the New Testament, the author traces the gradual development of the Jesus Prayer first in Byzantium and then in the Slav lands. He concludes with practical suggestions for its use today, showing how it is a prayer not only of the past but equally for the twentieth century. Indeed, there are good reasons to believe that the "way of the name," as he calls it, is being followed by more Christians in our own day than ever before - a striking sign of hope in an age of anxiety. Simple yet profound, this book reveals to us the secret of the continuing attraction exercised by the Jesus Prayer. Since its first appearance some thirty-five years ago, it has become a minor "classic" of the spiritual life, and it still remains the best introduction to the subject"--

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.

In all your boyhood dreams of growing up, did you dream of being a "nice guy"? Eldredge believes that every man longs for a battle to fight, an adventure to live, and a beauty to rescue. That is how he bears the image of God; that is what God made him to be.