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A spiritual guide on how to pray cites the importance of focusing on God rather than on oneself, while it defines the basic theology of prayer and addresses such issues as unanswered prayers.
- Sales Rank: #1178768 in Books
- Published on: 2008-09-02
- Released on: 2008-09-02
- Original language: English
- Number of items: 1
- Dimensions: 8.25" h x .90" w x 5.50" l, .62 pounds
- Binding: Paperback
- 304 pages
About the Author
Dr. Steve Brown is a broadcaster, seminary professor, author, and founder and president of Key Life Network. He previously served as a pastor for over twenty-five years and now devotes much of his time to the radio broadcasts, Key Life and Steve Brown Etc. Dr. Brown serves as Professor Emeritus of Preaching at Reformed Theological Seminary teaching at the campuses in Atlanta, Orlando and Washington, D.C. He sits on the board of the National Religious Broadcasters and Harvest USA. Steve is the author of numerous books, and his articles appear in such magazines and journals as Christianity Today, Leadership, Relevant, Leadership, Decision, Plain Truth and Today's Christian Woman. Traveling extensively, he is a much-in-demand speaker. Steve and his wife Anna have two daughters and three granddaughters.
Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.
Introduction
I'm an expert on religion. It's what I do.
In fact, I'm probably one of the most religious people you know. I write religious books, do religious broadcasts, speak at religious conferences, and teach in a religious graduate school...where I teach religious students to be more religious and how to teach other religious people to be more religious.
(A friend of mine says that religion is for people who don't want to go to hell, and the Christian faith is for people who've already been there.)
While I am an expert on religion, I'm not an expert on God. Nobody is.
God confuses me, and when it comes to what he's doing, why he's doing it, and why it hurts so much, I'm long on questions and short on answers. Paul asked the rhetorical questions: "Who has known the mind of the Lord, or who has been hiscounselor? Or who has given a gift to him that he might be repaid?" (Rom. 11:34-35 esv).
The answer is, of course, "Nobody here!"
That doesn't mean that I don't know anything about God. He has, for some reason I've never understood, called me to be his servant and friend. For some reason, he has asked me to talk about him to others. I wouldn't do it for anybody else but him. I have too many sins and too many doubts, and I'm way too cynical about myself and about lots of other things.
That's why it was such a surprise when I was asked to write a book on prayer. The original publisher made the proposal and offered a fairly large cash advance to write it.
I laughed at him.
(I didn't laugh at the advance because I'm so spiritual. The advances and royalties from all my books go to Key Life Network, the ministry with which I'm associated. Not only that, they aren't that big anyway. Howard Books, take note.)
"You're kidding," I said, pointing to my library shelves filled with books on prayer. "We don't have enough books onprayer?"
"Plenty," he responded, "but they're written by experts."
He thought he was making a joke (well, maybe not), but his words were the only reason a flawed, sinful, and sometimes wrong old preacher like me would ever write a book on prayer. In fact, the more I thought about it, the more I realized there really was a need for an honest book on prayer written by someone who wasn't an expert but was a "man of prayer."
A friend of mine told me once that he thought God had called me to be a teacher so that others could say, "If Steve can do it, anybody can!"
Anybody can!
That's the reason for this book. It's from a man (me) who has been there, tried that, and is telling you about what he discovered.
One of the good things about a publisher's publishing a rewrite of a book (as Howard Books is doing) is that the author gets a reality check. I've often said to conferences and congregations, "Half of what I just taught you is wrong. I'm just not sure which half. So you're going to have to do some checking for yourself."
That's not true with this book.
I've made some changes here and there. I've expanded the book with some things I've learned since I wrote the first one. And I've added some of your own prayer stories. But, believe it or not, I haven't discovered anything majorly wrong with the first book.
So, if you've read the first one, you don't have to buy this book. The first one still works.
Uh...erase that. Buy the book. Key Life needs the money.
Approaching God © 2008 by Steve Brown
one
Prayer 101
Our prayers must mean something to us if they are to mean anything to God.
-- Maltbie D. Babcock
The best prayers have often more groans than words.
-- John Bunyan
God has not always answered my prayers. If he had, I would have married the wrong man -- several times!
-- Ruth Bell Graham
John Owen, the seventeenth-century Puritan theologian, wrote that we should have mutual communion with God and in "total giving up of ourselves to him, resting in him as our utmost end...[that we] walk together in a covenant of peace."
Does that make you feel guilty?
Mark Harris, in his book Companions for Your Spiritual Journey, writes, "Being a Christian means setting out on an inner journey -- a journey of following Jesus. Along the way we learn to obey him and imitate him. Above all we become his intimate friends, and our lives are transformed by that friendship."
How does that make you feel? Still guilty?
A. W. Tozer wrote: "The universal Presence is a fact. God is here.... And always He is trying to get our attention, to reveal Himself to us, to communicate with us. We have within us the ability to know Him if we will but respond to His overtures. We will know Him in increasing degree as our receptivity becomes more perfect by faith and love and practice."
Still feeling guilty?
If you aren't, you should stop reading this book right now.
On the other hand, if you do feel guilty and at the same time wish you knew the reality described in the above quotes but have had your hope destroyed so often that you hesitate to go any further, don't stop reading.
I understand, and I think I can help. I've been there, done that, and still wear the T-shirt on occasion. Let me begin by telling you my story.
A number of years ago I came to the awareness that God wasn't very real to me. Perhaps that would be no big deal to you, but for me it was very important. You see, I was a pastor and my job was God. I was the leader of a congregation, and those people looked to me for information about God that was something other than hearsay. God was what I was about -- and God was someone with whom I was not on familiar terms.
Don't get me wrong. I had long before this time determined that my faith was true. I had gone through a period of agnosticism and doubt and would not have remained a pastor had I not discovered the theological and doctrinal truth of the things I taught and believed. The Christian faith had become true to me in the same way the multiplication tables were true, and once I had seen the truth, I couldn't "unsee" it. But have you ever been comforted by the multiplication tables? Have you ever tried to find hope in a doctrine?
I knew a lot about God, but I didn't know God in anything other than the most superficial way. I had come to believe that the Bible was true, that Jesus Christ was truly the Son of God, that the Resurrection really happened, and that Christ would come back to clean up the mess. That in itself is no mean thing. Once we discover those truths, there are certain implications about those truths that we ignore only at our peril.
If I find out that two plus two equals four instead of five or three, there are certain implications of that truth for my life, my grocery price list, and my checkbook. Just so, if we discover truths in the spiritual and theological realm, there are also implications. I did my best to live out those implications. I wrote books on the implications. I lectured and preached on the implications. I knew that the Ten Commandments were from God and were not the Ten Suggestions. I knew there was a right and a wrong way to live, and I tried to live the right way. If God had revealed himself in Christ, then there were certain implications to be garnered from that truth: meaning and hope and forgiveness. If God was not a monster, then I could trust in his truth and act on his Word. The discovery of the truth was a major gift of grace in my life, and I will be eternally grateful for it.
However, I was only a tourist describing a country I had never visited. I was convinced that the country was there, I had read the travel brochures, and I had worked hard at learning the language of that country. I had even met people who lived there, and I had listened to everything they said about the country. The problem was that I had become an expert on a country I had never visited.
Do you know the story about the young man who wanted, more than anything in the world, to be a lion trainer? He read books on lion training, he talked to lion trainers, and every chance he got, he visited the zoo to look at the lions. Then one night he decided to test his knowledge. After the zoo closed, he climbed over the fence and into the lion section of the zoo.
The next morning they found some bones, bits and pieces of clothing, and a torn-up book on lion training.
My experience with the Lion of Judah was not dissimilar. I had gone about as far as I could with the book. I was tired of knowing a lot about the Lion. I wanted to know the Lion.
But the difference between my experience and the experience of the boy in the story was that I knew that lions could be quite dangerous. I knew enough about my subject to know that one doesn't go flippantly into the presence of a lion. Lions are not to be treated casually.
But there was more than fear that came from my knowledge of God and the truth he had revealed in Scripture. There was a longing.
I can remember the longing. I would be teaching the truths I found in the Bible and would look at the congregation and see people who were deeply moved by those truths.
Sometimes I even saw tears. I didn't understand that. I would wonder what was wrong with those who cried. One doesn't get emotional about truth. Truth is just truth. One doesn't shed tears over the multiplication tables.
You say, "Steve, you're a hard man."
You have no idea how hard. But I was not so hard that I failed to see in those tears a reality that simply was not my reality. When you don't have something or you're faking it and you meet the "real thing," it can be devastating.
So I got on my knees and I prayed. I knew the words and the formulas. I had learned those words from books, from my tradition, and from my experience. But this time I put aside the words and was honest before the Lion. I prayed:
Father, my sin is more real to me than you are. I believe that you have asked me to teach your people, to lead them, and to be their pastor. You have been gracious to me, and I have no complaint. If you...
Most helpful customer reviews
6 of 6 people found the following review helpful.
This man knows Jesus
By Drew Mccarty
I like Steve Brown for a lot of reasons, but the main one is this: it is evident that this man knows Jesus. And I don't mean that he knows a lot about Jesus. Brown spends a lot of time with Jesus, one-on-one. And that's exactly why this is the best book I've ever read on prayer. It's not a "how-to guide;" nor is it dry theology. Instead, Brown shares with us his relationship with Jesus in hopes that we will be encouraged.
Short Chapter-by-Chapter Summary:
1. "Pr...more I like Steve Brown for a lot of reasons, but the main one is this: it is evident that this man knows Jesus. And I don't mean that he knows a lot about Jesus. Brown spends a lot of time with Jesus, one-on-one. And that's exactly why this is the best book I've ever read on prayer. It's not a "how-to guide;" nor is it dry theology. Instead, Brown shares with us his relationship with Jesus in hopes that we will be encouraged.
Short Chapter-by-Chapter Summary:
1. "Prayer is simply the communion, the communication, and the contact between the creature and the Creator. It is the expression of a relationship between two persons.... Prayer is what happens when the soul cries out to its Maker" (p. 8).
2. "It isn't our sin that causes God to be far away. The vicarious atonement of Christ takes care of sin. But stiffness-now that will kill your prayer life every time" (p. 25).
3. A successful prayer life requires commitment. It needn't be long. Structure and accountability help.
4. Childlikeness: "There is joy is resting in One who is in charge. When was the last time you giggled and didn't care what anybody thought?... When we are in relationship with God, there is a childlike joy in knowing that we are accepted and cherished - no matter what. That's what it means to be childlike, and rel prayer reflects that kind of joy" (p. 82).
5. "Intimacy with God...is the ultimate goal of the life of every believer" (p. 93). You want a deeper prayer life for the intimacy, not power, not "getting better." You must be called to it, be patient, and be flexible.
6.Find quite place, use centering prayer (imagination, word recognition), take off the mask, acknowledge, adore, worship, and praise. Meditate. Listen.
7. "God didn't design prayer so that you would get better.... God didn't design prayer so that you would be holy.... God didn't design prayer to make you more like Jesus... God designed prayer because he likes you and wants to spend time with you" (p. 143).
8. "There is a major element of prayer that most of us miss, and that element is laughter - a free, joyous, wholesome, hardy laughter.... When God invites his people to prayer, he invites them to the dance - a celebration of the relationship and who created it, a celebration of who he is and what he has created, a celebration of life and meaning and forgiveness and heaven. When the Father invites us to prayer, he issues an invitation to a joyous party (p. 161, 163).
9. Covenant: Prayer is hard work and so God often calls communities of Christians to share the load.
10. Suggestions for Prayer: Have Faith. Be Patient. Pray within God's will. Be specific. Remember God is God. Praise Him. Be (or want to be) Obedient. Keep Praying. Make Requests. Not Demands. Take Prayer Seriously.
11. Why did God not answer my prayer? is the wrong question. "The real question is why any prayers are answered at all" (p. 227).
12. Common questions answered.
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful.
Thoughts on "Approaching God" by Steve Brown
By J. Howell
Prayer is a subject many of us wish we were better at. It is a journey and it is about a relationship with God. Steve Brown addresses this topic in a way that is very understandable and user friendly. He brings a perspective that we can grasp, appreciate, and identify with. I found it to be very informative, inspirational, and personally beneficial. This book is very readable and not one you would have to labor over.Approaching God: Accepting the Invitation to Stand in the Presence of God
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful.
WORTH READING !
By SMITH
Approaching God
by: Steve Brown
I'm on the Keylife mailing list and saw that this was one of S. Brown's books.
Did I really need this book? Would it be worth reading????
I ordered the Book - and am glad I did !
One of the main reasons it appeals to me is... I don't really like reading. So it had to be a style that was
reader-friendly.
What was so great is that its like a conversation Steve Brown is having with his readers. He isn't talking
AT YOU. Its like he's sitting down and talking with you. And the book has some bits of humor.
I enjoyed the Book. After you read it, you know that in the future you will want to READ IT AGAIN.!
The Contents:
CH. 1 -- PRAYER 101
CH. 2 Hugging a dirty kid
CH. 3 Tying the Trusses Down
Ch. 4 Growing Down
Ch. 5 Going deeper - 1
Ch. 6 Going Deeper - 2
Ch. 7 Good for Goodness Sake
8 ------ Invitation to the Dance
9 - Its a family kind of thing
10 - Signs and Wonders
11 - The Pain of UnAnswered Prayer
12 - I'm Glad you asked
STUDY GUIDE/ DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
______________________________________________________________
What I appreciated S. Brown sharing. (really good points/insights)
[ pg. 61-62] He breaks down the Lord's prayer. To show you a FORM of prayer.
Pg.72 - In order to have the kind of prayer life that is meaninful you must have a childlike trust
Pg. 124 - If you don't feel welcomed, loved and accepted by God, Then you need to be still and wait. The sense
that you have no business being before the throne of God is often a wall through which you must go to get to
God's love. Many belevers hit that wall and give up. The wall is an illuision. It isn't there - no matter what
anyone tells you. That imaginary wall tests the mettle of your seriousness and is affirmed by Satan to get you to stop seeking God.
Pg. 143 God designed prayer - - - because he likes you and wants to spend time with you.
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