Where prayer is absent, it reinforces the assumption that we're okay without him.' It teaches the church that we really need the Lord. 'Where prayer is present, it's saying something- it's speaking, shouting.

Prayer is filled with great quotes, but I will leave you with a few of my favorites:

It's very accessible in the way he writes and the commitment to read it is not a large one as it is a short, but useful book. Pastor, elder, deacon, or congregation member would benefit from reading John Onwuchekwa's short book on prayer. The reader is gifted with the wisdom John has gained from his own trial and error in leading prayer meetings and his tips are highly valuable. The other extremely useful part is he gives advice on how to do this for it to be most beneficial. I would not have been one to jump on this train before hearing his arguments. We live in a day where prayer meetings are becoming a thing of the past, but John convinced me that corporate prayer is necessary for the church. I think this is some of the most useful information in the book. He then talks about the 'need for' and the 'how to' of prayer meetings. We prepare for music and sermons beforehand, why not also be intentional with our prayers? This is a suggestion that had a great impact on me. He also helpfully points out that it is ok to prepare our prayers before we pray them. John highlights how we can use the ACTS model to direct our prayers. On Sunday mornings, our corporate prayers teach our people to pray. He first shows the importance of being a praying people when we are gathered as the body and then he talks about two things related to corporate prayer that I found to be the most helpful parts of the book: the Sunday morning service and the prayer meeting. When we look at how people prayed in the Bible, especially Jesus, we learn a right model for our prayers.Īfter defining prayer and even looking briefly at what personal prayer looks like for the believer, John moves on to corporate church prayer. This is extremely helpful because many people have many definitions for prayer. John takes the beginning of the book to define prayer and look at biblical examples. Just as our private prayer lives can be improved by God's grace, so too can our corporate prayer lives.' John says in his own words, 'that's the goal of this book: learning how to pray better and more as churches. John doesn't just focus on personal prayer, but also shows the 'why' and the 'how' of corporate, congregational prayer. If you've read one, have you read them all? Why should I read another book on prayer? Those thoughts are the reason that Prayer by John Onwuchekwa sets itself apart. With so many books on prayer available, it's hard to know where to start or which one to read.

John onwuchekwa prayer