Rhemalogy

Passion for God
Compassion for People

by James P. Gills, MD

I’ve been reading this book off/on for quite some time but was determined to finish it and I’m glad I did.

Faithful, fervent, and focused? Does that describe your prayer life?

The Prayerful Spirit is a testament to how prayer changed the life of the author, other doctors, their patients; and can change your life too.

Gill writes, “If we neglect our prayer life, we lose sight of our Lord, and we become proud, arrogant people who think we don’t need God. Prayer, therefore, sets us straight and keeps us safe in our Lord.” (Pg.4) He further expounds. “Worship prayer transcends the structure of ingrained behavior and rigid church traditions. In prayer we can experience the holy and compassionate heart of the Lord.” (pg. 5)

In these 147 power-packed pages, Dr. Gill dissects prayer in ways many of us have never considered. There are seventeen chapters consisting of everything from ‘What Prayer Is’ to ‘A Precious Possession’. In between those two topics is a plethora of information about prayer. At the end of the first eleven chapters is a refresher for group discussions or personal reflections.

There are so many nuggets in this book to help get your prayer life back on track—if that is what you need or to help improve your prayer life if that is what you are looking for. You’ll think you’ve found a gold mine! Dr. Gill writes, “If we put on the label of God and charge out foolishly rather than having Him in our hearts and making Him part of us, we fail.” We cannot make prayer ritualistic—it must be a relationship with God. And it is only through our declared love of God that prayer becomes a relationship. “Without that love, our prayers are just empty words.” (pg. 34)

Another point he drove home was prayer cannot be effective if it is self-willed. God’s will must become ours. If we focus on the Holy Spirit without the Word this action results in emotionalism. As the focus on the Word without the Holy Spirit can turn into formalism. When you are led by the Holy Spirit you are not driven by emotion. When we combine the Word with the Holy Spirit, then prayer not only changes us but also changes the world!

We should have a prayer life that evolves into the purest form of prayer. With this reality, we must recognize pride as one of the biggest roadblocks to answered prayer. In all that we do in prayer, we have to stay humble. Here is Dr. Gill’s list of roadblocks to our prayers:

• Lack of Faith
• Pride and Selfishness
• Impatience
• Laziness
• No Time To Pray
• Critical Spirit
• Hypocrisy
• Wordly Influences
• Power
• Material Goods

If your prayer is not being answered, perhaps one of these points could be the reason.

As our prayer life evolves we should begin to possess a developing prayer life. First a disciplined life of prayer. Then our prayers become heartfelt. Lastly, our entire being is consumed by our prayerful relationship with God. Intimacy with God comes from knowing His heart.

This book is from my personal collection.

You can purchase The Prayerful Spirit on Amazon.com, Discover Books, Ebay, Thriftbooks, and other online distributors.

We give The Prayerful Spirit

If you are not happy with your prayer life and need to develop it with the right building blocks, The Prayerful Spirit is the book to get you there. Scripturally backed, is an easy read that fully asserts the writer’s purpose.

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