Praying Life, A: Connecting with God in a Distracting World

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Though perhaps more often than necessary, Miller gave dozens of personal stories that gave the book a helpful, earthy feel.

Jesus does not say, “Come to me, all you who have learned how to concentrate in prayer, whose mind no longer wander, and I will you rest. Yet at the same time, while I need practicality, I also need to understand the foundational reasons why prayer sometimes malfunctions in my life.

He pulls this idea together with the example of God’s rebuke of the nation of Israel’s wondering hearts as written in Jeremiah 2:5-8. We are not to move into a godlike stance about our view of someone else’s story God is weaving, we must be reminded of Jesus’ answer to Peter’s question about John in John 21:22. Ponder it for a refresher on the Bible’s testimony to prayer, on prayer in countless settings today, and on myriad impediments to prayer. Comfort your daughter, lay down with her if you want her to stay in bed, and pray while laying in bed with her. Given this context, I jumped at the chance to receive Paul Miller's A Praying Life: Connecting with God in a Distracting World, by NavPress, for free.

I also have always struggled with the idea of a "p Then he prayed through his cards, then his daughter started pacing again, so he yelled at her again to go back to bed, then he prayed more through his cards. Because it is uncomfortable to feel our unbelief, to come face-to-face with our cynicism, we dull our souls with the narcotic of activity. I suspect this teaching can make much more headway in people who have been impacted by the Enlightenment, than in those which haven't. Of course, it is possible for a person to have a regular prayer life and still place his confidence in himself rather than in the Lord; there is a place for prayer in performance-based religion.I’ve read books about it and talked to friends about it, but there was always a disconnect between the idea of prayer (and now I realize my misconceptions about prayer) and the reality of a regular prayer life. I need to stop worrying about whether I’ve carved out the proper prayer time or quiet time and just start talking to God whenever or wherever it occurs to me.

Yet then the author goes on to make it seem as though prayer is hard, and even makes it out to be work. The prayers Moses records may be short, but Moses prayed to God with fastings and mighty cryings forty days and nights. In Miller's words, "The gospel, God's free gift of grace in Jesus, only works when we realize we don't have it all together.That is, a view of sanctification which says if you’re trying to be righteous, you need to stop it, because you’re being a legalist.

You can tell their presence and even describe them, but you can't define them, simply because they are too close to God's image.There is something good to be said for Miller's admirable attempts to, in spite of many unresolved mysteries, provide us a gritty memoir of how to pray. At first glance, genuine faith and naive optimism appear identical since both foster confidence and hope.