First sentence: The most important aspect of the Christian life is prayer. It is the most potent weapon we have in the spiritual warfare before us in this world. Every Christian is defined by their prayer life, and if we are not living in prayer, we are not experiencing the life God has for us.

This is a collection--edited by James Snyder--of A.W. Tozer's thoughts on prayer. The chapters don't flow the smoothest. All chapters have the potential to hit their mark--to pack a punch, to hit you where it hurts, to wake you up. Some chapters perhaps a little more than others. This is not, however, an instruction book on how to pray OR how to fix your prayer life OR anything remotely technical or mechanical. It can leave you feeling that something OUGHT to be done, but not necessarily filling in the blanks as to what. I think that was purposeful, intentional. Perhaps serving as a reminder that prayer is an encounter with the living God, the three-times-holy God. It isn't something mechanical or formulaic. It isn't a matter of piecing together specific words at a specific time of day. It isn't about a certain length of prayer. Or posture of prayer. Tozer's philosophy seems to be more down-to-earth: pray until you pray. No excuses, just do it.

Is this helpful? Again, I don't think the point is to be helpful. I think it is what it is. Prayer was ESSENTIAL, absolutely irreplaceable, foundational, emphatically EVERYTHING of the Christian life...according to Tozer. Prayer was important to him. These are collected thoughts that perhaps read a bit disjointed at times. But the focus is always on prayer.

I found the book convicting but not particularly helpful. Inspiring, yes, for sure. But also frustrating. You see Tozer's zeal for God on every page. It is easy to want that kind of zeal, to want that kind of experience for yourself. But really it comes down to a "just do it" approach which just seems disheartening. It may be true--that you cannot really learn to pray-pray from following someone's advice and guidelines--but I am glad I read it.

Quotes:

The most important thing in my life has to be my prayer life; therefore, I will surrender everything in my life to let the dynamics of prayer drive me forward and upward into God's presence.

Our prayer has to be based upon our faith in God, and that faith is based upon our confidence in Him and who He says He is. ( )