Living Prayer brings fresh insight to this ancient prayer and gives us the tools to transform our prayer lives.

Living Prayer by Dennis Fuqua
Book Review By Jan M.

Dennis Fuqua (pronounced few-kway), the director of International Renewal Ministries, and author of Living Prayer, challenges you to take Jesus' command on how to pray more seriously than ever before.

The events in Matthew 6:9-13 and Luke 11, took place in two different times and settings, but in both Jesus told his followers, "This, then, is how you should pray," and gave them the words which we now call "The Lord's Prayer."

Part 1 of this book introduces you to the prayer and explains why and how it can be helpful to your life.

In Part 2, each line of the Lord's Prayer is broken down with explanation to help us have a deeper understanding of the meaning. Having learned the Lord's Prayer as a little girl, I can still recite it today. Before reading this book I would have told you that I understood the meaning... but, I'd never studied it in this way. I appreciate James Mulholland's quote which compares the prayer to making a marriage vow. Even though it only takes a few minutes to recite, it must be lived out for years in order to become meaningful.

In Chapter 7, the explanation of "Let Your will be done," was especially eye-opening. I came to understand that His will is less about what we do and more about who we are and why we do what we do. His will = His commands

I thought Chapter 9, "Forgive us our debts," was especially well written. I often hear people who are confused about what forgiveness means. It doesn't mean to 'forgive and forget.' We can and do remember offenses, but we must choose not to retaliate. We can get mad, but not get even. If you have questions about the topic of forgiveness, I recommend this chapter. It's written in a way that is easy to understand and remember.

At the end of each chapter there is a response section with a few questions to help you process what you've learned.

Part 3 has, what the author calls, "training wheel prayers," to assist us until we are ready to ride on our own. There are a multitude of combinations given, to suit every need.

Living Prayer brings fresh insight to this ancient prayer and gives us the tools to transform our prayer lives.

You can buy Living Prayer at Amazon.com, Christianbook.com or local booksellers