I picked up Praying Like Jesus: The Lord’s Prayer in a Culture of Prosperity for a dollar or two at Half-Price Books because I enjoy short (raises the odds that I will read them) and pointed books on important topics and this seemed to fit the bill.
James Mulholland is alarmed at the success of recent books that he feels are based on a false understanding of prayer and a false gospel of personal gain. “We so quickly forget the point of prayer. The point of prayer is not to tell god what you want, but to hear what you need. It is not approaching God with our demands, but listening for God’s commands. It is not seeking our will, but learning to discern God’s will. This is so important to understand in a culture that caters to our every whim. Prayer isn’t about me. It is about God.”
Mulholland offers an expansive meditation on the simple, yet powerful verses of The Lord’s Prayer. Praying Like Jesus is an important and timely call back to a vision of the gospel that can transform our world, and a primer on the true role of prayer in our lives.
The obvious hook for this book, The Prayer of Jabez phenomenon, feels a bit dated but the prosperity gospel is sadly alive and well; a perennial temptation it seems. And the issue of faith in an age of prosperity (and yes, even in our troubled economic times Westerners live in an era of prosperity) is as challenging as ever. So don’t let the hook fool you, this is about much more than a Christian publishing fad. It is about timeless issues, how do we approach our relationship with God and how does that affect our daily lives. Mulholand explores these issues through the lens of The Lord’s Prayer. It is a challenging and thought-provoking read.