Prayer: Confronting the Confusion

Synopsis

Prayer Is Merely Conversation With God. Therefore, It Shouldn't Require A Book To Explain How To Do It. However, Prayer Can Also Be A Source Of Perplexity, Doubt, Confusion, And Even Discomfort. It Was For Me. When I Tried To Pray, I Was Plagued With Doubts. Did My Doubts Disqualify Me? Did I Doubt Too Much To Be Able To Receive Anything From God? It Seemed Like My Mind Was Continually Wandering. Did This Mean That I Wasn't In Touch With God, Or Worse, That He Was Rejecting Me? Did I Have Enough Faith? What Was Faith Supposed To Feel Like? Was There A Particular Faith Experience? I Knew That Without Faith, It Is Impossible To Please God. Perhaps I Wasn't Very Pleasing To Him. And The Doubts Didn't Stop There. How Was I To Pray? Did I First Need To Quiet My Mind? Was I Supposed To Visualize God? Was I Supposed To Hear His Voice? The Christian Mystics Convinced Me That If My Prayers Weren't Being Answered, It Meant That I Wasn't Connecting With God. Should I Therefore Practice Some Of Their Techniques? Should I Repeat One Sacred Word Over And Over Again? These Confusing Doubts And Questions And Many Others Tormented Me. For Years, They Continued Their Debilitating Work Until I Was Able To Come Up With Biblical Answers That Satisfied Me. This Book Is Not A Book Of Techniques. Instead, It Presents A Theology Of Prayer That Answers These Tormenting Questions, Thus Enabling Christians To Find Peace And Assurance When They Pray. I Feel Privileged By My Lord To Have Been Given These Comforting, Biblically Coherent Answers. It Has Been A Great Privilege To Pass These Truths On To My Students. And Now, Through This Book, I Trust That More Students And Many Others Will Be Strengthened In Their Faith And Blessed As They Pray.