How to Pray is a raw, real, and remarkable how-to-guide on prayer for everyone―from the committed follower of Jesus to the skeptic and the scared. Pete uses the framework of the Lord’s Prayer to share biblically sound wisdom offering honest encouragement and real-life methods to refresh our spirits, revitalize our faith, and help us practice life-giving and life-changing prayer. How to Pray also inspires disciples by sharing the power of prayer through the stories of Corrie Ten Boom, Joni Eareckson Tada, Saint Patrick, and many more. Pete Greig is one of the founders of 24-7 Prayer International.
How to Pray
Pete Greig
This book's Disciple Making Purpose
One of the greatest challenges that believers face is prayer; as they ask “How do I pray?”, “What can I ask for?”, and “How do I hear God’s answers?” That challenge coupled with the formal traditions of the church focusing primarily on group prayer, praise, thankfulness, and intercessory prayer often leaves believers never having a true personal conversation with their Father. It may seem odd but, really, most disciples need at least a refresher course on talking to their Father because an open conversation and hearing from Him is critical to disciple making. This book opens the door to conviction, enlightenment, and answers in Year One but it sets the stage for every step on the Predictable Pathway. We use it towards the end of Year One in preparation for disciples to begin to hear the voice of God “call” them to do and serve.
Key Topics or Truths
Beginning to Pray
Keeping Prayer Simple
Intercessory Prayer
Coping with Unanswered Prayer
Contemplative Prayer
Hearing God
This Book is Good For...
Anyone who needs a starting point for prayer. It provides one practical approach to prayer. It is also good for refreshing the seasoned believer, bringing hope and inspiration to the topic of prayer.
How We Use this Book to Make Disciples
We use this book in Year One to challenge the perception that Christianity is about a bunch of rules that limit us. We use a three week reading plan and discuss the book in a book club (see below) format after each week’s reading. Here’s how we divide the book:
- Week One – Forward through Step 2: Rejoice (Forward – Chapter 4)
- Week Two – Step 3: Ask through Blaise Pascal: Night of Fire (Chapters 5-8)
- Week Three – Finish Step 4: Yield (Chapters 9-12)
Our book club format is simple. We still talk individually to each disciple individually asking questions like,
- We read chapters x to y this week. Sue what did you think?
- Bob, did any of these truths directly apply to you? Like have you ever faced a struggle like this?
- Mary, what two things stood out to you in this week’s reading?
- Tom, what do you think are the main takeaways this week?
Make sure that you and the disciple don’t miss the value and understanding of each of the actual steps! We guide the discussion with the liberty to ask individual disciples or to go round and ask the entire group questions about each step. For example,
- “Bob, do you have a trouble sitting still while praying?”,
- “Sue, after reading this chapter on worship, is there anything you feel that you need to change when you pray?”,
- “Tom, do you have any unanswered prayers, if so, did this section offer any tips for you?”, or perhaps,
- Going around the room asking, “How do you handle confession? After you confess, do you feel like everything is good between God and you? Did this chapter help?”
Remember the value of the call to action! God’s truths are useless unless we work on self-awareness and change (repentance). Education is of little value unless applicable truths are applied.
Our team also uses this resource to bring more depth to the SNAP method of prayer. There is no doubt that prayer is, simply, a conversation between us and God. However, disciples often ask God for things he cannot provide. For example, praying, “God, save my brother” is not a prayer that God can answer because God will not take away your brother’s free will. However, disciples can pray that God will soften their brother’s heart, speak to him, or put him in a situation where he is aware of God.
Real Life Story
A seasoned believer wrote, “This really focused me in on learning to sit quietly, reminding me to meditate. The P.R.A.Y. framework gave me a refreshed way to remember what I am doing as I pray. Without a doubt, this is not the only way to pray, but the truths throughout the book really made a difference. I even learned a few new things along the way. A great read for me.”
Know Issues or Controversies
In Chapter 3, Pause, Greig shares that one of his personal practices is to speak in tongues and refers to a guide called How to Speak in Tongues. Though there is no solid Biblical evidence that this practice or gift passed away many have abused or practice it in a way that appears inconsistent with Biblical teaching. Some even assert that it is essential to salvation. This “hot” topic isn’t worth derailing the use of this book (regardless of your doctrinal view) and can be used to have healthy conversations that will prepare disciples. After all, they will encounter this practice and Paul’s teaching on the topic in the New Testament.
In the How to Speak in Tongues guide, Greig states that the gift of tongues is for everyone. Most theologians would disagree. It is good to desire all the gifts of the Spirit, the Bible is clear that it is the Spirit that gives one gift to one and another gift to another.
The Prayer Toolbox that is referenced throughout How to Pray has many resources that our team does not use and has not fully reviewed. If you use the toolbox, you should preview any of the resources that you will use. We have found the core teaching of this book to be solid unless otherwise noted.
Greig makes a semi-unimportant comment in Chapter 10 writing “When King David raped Bathsheba (for that is surely what it was)…” Our team finds this to be an assertion of opinion and, unfortunately, many disciples who have read the Bible prior to discipleship struggle with this comment. This statement probably should have been left on the editing room floor as it distracts from the point of teaching and, though it is a view held by some, it is not explicitly written in the text of the Bible.
If you need a substitute for this book, we suggest the old-school classic How to Pray by R.A. Torrey. But that book as well has a few challenges.
Our Lead Storyteller grew up in Christ without a lot of clear leadership so he learned how to pray (and, how not to pray) over the course of many years from many teachers. After years of following and discipling others, a friend referred asked him to review Pete’s book for inclusion in the the SD Library. Doug’s response to the read was, “It was like a summary, a collection of all I had learned in a simple easy to remember format.” Our other team members had the same reaction. It is a quick, smart start to talking with God.
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Pete Greig
Book Details
Pathway Steps: 1, 4, 5
- Phase: Year 1
- Book Type: Non-Fiction
- Flair: By Example
- Tags: Christian Living, Easy Read
Reading Time
Three Weeks
Start Reading After Week 38
11 Pages per Day
14 Minutes per Day
Related Reads
This book pairs well with all of the Year One reading but does a good job coming before Improving Your Serve.