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Philip Yancey probes the very heartbeat¡ªthe most fundamental, challenging, perplexing, and deeply rewarding aspect¡ªof our relationship with God: prayer. What is prayer? Does it change God¡¯s mind or ours¡ªor both? This book is an invitation to communicate with God the Father who invites us into an eternal partnership through prayer.

Customer Reviews:

• It's not just talking to yourself with your hands in the air!
  Phil Yancey writes: "If I had to answer the question, 'Why Pray?' in one sentence, it would be: 'Because Jesus did.'"
  
  And to what end? Phil Yancey "knows that the main purpose of prayer is not to make life easier, but to know God" (Review, CHRISTIAN SCIENCE SENTINEL).
  
  "How long, O Lord?" is another Frequently Asked Question. But prayer is not like a five-paragraph essay for your English class. Some Christians, men especially, are much too concerned about length. Jesus often asked his Twelve Disciples to bow their heads for "a WORD of prayer." But once you got him started, Jesus didn't quit. He could talk to his Father all night long. The Twelve would grow tired of listening, and fall asleep. More than once they awoke for breakfast, and Jesus was still talking.
  
  So that's first rule of thumb: "Pray without ceasing."
  
  The other good rule of thumb is: "Don't let anyone else overhear." Most people, when they pray to God, are not really interested in having a meaningful conversation. Usually, they just want to ask Him for stuff: Help me, Lord, to find my car keys (a boyfriend / job / rent-controlled apartment). Please, O Lord, cure my headache (lung cancer / teen acne). O Lord, won't you buy me a Mercedes Benz? (a colour TV? / a night on the town?). Sometimes, if you have enough faith, prayer actually does work.
  
  Next tip: Roll with the punches. The Lord answers EVERY prayer: It's just that sometimes His answer is Yes, and sometimes His answer is No.
  
  (Caveat: a fire hydrant or a Buddha statue will answer every prayer with one of the same two replies, yes or no, in roughly the same proportions, as Jesus will do. But if you pray to an idol, Jesus may kill you; so I'm with Phil Yancey on this one: Pray to Jesus, it's safer.)
  
  Yancey freely admits that God will not heal an amputated limb, or cystic fibrosis, or pancreatic cancer. He also concedes that unless God takes a special liking to you (videlicet, Moses, Bill Gates, Donald Trump, George W. Bush), the Lord is gonna do what the Lord is gonna do. So if you need to pray, the best strategy is to figure out what God will do anyway, and to pray for that.
  
  Example: "Dear Lord, please don't allow my boyfriend to get struck by lightning." Or: "Please, Lord, don't let a piano fall from the sky on my boss's head." Or: "Our Father who art in Heaven, please permit me to pay taxes to the government." Or: "Dear Lord, please give us sunshine for our church picnic Saturday afternoon, as forecast on the Weather Channel" (but that last one can be a little chancy).
  
  And at bedtime, you should say: "Phew! Thanks, Lord. You're amazing!"
  
  If your child or parent or friend has a terminal illness, it's okay to ask God, politely, for that person to be healed. Just don't pester Him if the answer is "No." Yancey explains: "When I pray for another person, I am praying for God to open my eyes so that I can see that person as God does, and then enter into the stream of love that God already directs towards that person," such as giving him a good dose of pancreatic cancer or cystic fibrosis.
  
  Here are some ways not to pray:
  
  * "O Lord, thousands of children die each day from malnutrition. Feed them."
  * "Dear God, millions suffer from untreated disease. Heal them."
  * "O Lord, will You please steer that big hurricane in some other direction than the Gulf Coast of the United States?"
  
  God is powerful, and He can often do things that will surprise you. But don't expect Yahveh, or Jesus for that matter, to smile on overly-ambitious prayer requests. Those kinds of prayers actually annoy Him, because they fall on His ears like veiled criticism, or (worse) like begging, which--because He is holy--He cannot tolerate.
  
  It used to be, when I talked to God, I never got half of what I asked for. But I was using the wrong system. Phil Yancey's book, PRAYER: DOES IT MAKE A DIFFERENCE?, has made a big, big difference. Ever since I read it, my prayers have scored close to 60/40. So I've got no complaints.
  
  - L.
  ...more info
• A great disappointment.
  Let me summarize for you. Who knows if prayer works? Who knows why God answers some prayers and not others? I ususally like Yancy but he really disappoints with this effort. ...more info
• An Inspiration & Easy Read Considering its length
  Wow! This unusually thick volume was such an easy read. It was inspiring to me and the influence that Mr. Yancey has had on my own ideas about prayer is clearly evident in my own book A Greater Prayer: A How-To Manual on Making the Lord's Prayer Your Very Own. Thank you Mr. Yancey!...more info
• Comes as close as you can to answering an unanswerable question.
  This book, like Yancey's others, is as complete of an answer as you can get to an unanswerable philisophical question. I wondered about the purpose of prayer after my children were born with life-threatening diseases (yes, more than one!) and my parents were killed by a drunk driver - when it became clear to me that God either cannot or will not have the control in our lives we wish he did. (I highly recommend Yancey's "Disappointment With God" to explore more on that topic.) Plus, why pray when God already knows all our thoughts? The main things I took from this rather lengthy, heavy book are: 1) Prayer is not about making requests to God, which is a very western way of thinking. It is about listening to what God wants US to do. 2) We should pray because Jesus said so. In fact, if you are satisfied with these two explainations, you may not need to read the book! (Although I highly recommend it.)...more info
• Another Stimulating Fireside Chat with Philip Yancey
  Through this book, Philip Yancey again invites us for a stimulating fireside chat on topics that trouble Christians, this time the paradox that is prayer - why are most prayers unanswered? How could a powerful, all-loving God allow evil to happen even when Christians pray against it?
  
  Follow Yancey as he takes us on a grand tour through Scripture - especially the Psalms and Job (easily Yancey's most quoted portions of Scripture!), through the life stories of Christians throughout history, and Christian writings to explore, scrutinise and investigate prayer and its effects on God and the pray-ers (people who pray), whether what was prayed for was granted or not.
  
  Masterfully, Yancey weaves all these to show us that we ought to keep praying in faith, and embark on a journey that transforms our prayers, and our view of prayer - from being a problem-riddled exercise of seeming futility, to a pathway to being transformed by God who yearns for relationship with us human beings. For that is the purpose he created free-willing human beings to love him and fellowship with him, for which also he sent his own Son, Jesus Christ to redeem these human beings when they are estranged from him through sin.
  
  This is not a theological handbook, and readers who presuppose God's predetermination of human destinies will find the idea of human free will (a 'core' Yancey concept) difficult to go pass. Yet, as he pointed out, even Calvin urged people to pray and included prayer as a chapter next to predestination! Questions such as God's sovereignty and the human will could only be resolved by studying further issues such as ontology and the nature of God (I would like to suggest, as a start, Dennis Kinlaw's /Let's Start with Jesus/. Zondervan, 2005).
  
  Yancey respectfully treats his readers as fellow travellers on this journey of life. /Prayer: Does It Make Any Difference?/ is a holler of encouragement from one who has gone that little bit further than us. It calls for, not adulation or even admiration for the writer, but a humble thanksgiving to God who has gifted us with such an encourager....more info
• Great and insightful read!!!
  This book has compeled me to pray more by reinforcing the Biblical principle of that prayer is our life blood.
  Yancey does not guilt or scare you into prayer,neither does he promise our desired outcome, but he shows that there is no better place than being in the presence of our heavenly Father....more info
• A Great Book for Anyone Inside the Circle or Out
  Philip Yancey is one of the best Christian writers out there. I can't tell you how many copies of DISAPPOINTMENT WITH GOD and WHERE IS GOD WHEN IT HURTS? I've given away over the years.
  
  He honestly chronicles his own spiritual journeys while quoting from both religious and literary sources. Whatever one believes, you can't help but come away from Yancey feeling anything but enlightened. Tough questions are asked, hard-won answers are found, some mysteries remain.
  
  I was particularly touched by the story of the blind leper in Nepal. Very few books have been powerful enough to move me to tears. This one did.
  
  Yancey is definitely an author worth reading....more info
• Prayer Revisited
  Philip Yancey,as usual, gives us a fresh look at prayer. He explored concepts that I had never encountered before. A must read for any serious Christian or for seekers with questions on the subject of prayer....more info
• Worth a second read
  Not a book of platitudes or motivational stories. It's down to earth material about the author's journey into prayer. He raised and answered a lot of the questions that lingered in my mind but was too whatever to address them....more info
• Good insight
  This book is very well written, and offers great perspective on a practice that is hard to grasp, at times....more info
• The inexhaustible subject of prayer
  Philip Yancey likes to tackle the difficulties of faith; and prayer is one. I like his honesty and lack of pretension. This book is challenges me to grow in the experience of prayer....more info
• The answer is... Yes!
  My husband and I read this book as part of a class at church. It generated a lot of good discussion. The best part of reading it was finding that Yancey asked many of the same questions I've asked myself about prayer, and his conclusions were very much along the same lines as many of mine. I felt validated that prayer does not have to be the formal form we're used to in church; it is an attitude of living a life in companionship with God....more info
• Prayer: Does It Make Any Difference?
  This is an absolutely profound, insightful, challenging and encouraging look at prayer from a Biblical perspective. I am reading it a few segments at a time and have bought copies to share and encourage friends....more info
• Can we do no less?
  One of the greatest mysteries in the Christian faith is the idea that God communicates with us and, amazingly, wants us to communicate with Him. So with great anticipation I began bestselling author Philip Yancey's PRAYER: Does It Make Any Difference?
  
  Yancey's skills as a journalist shine through in this book. He mines the wisdom of ancient and contemporary writers on prayer, conducts interviews and consults statistics. Nine out of ten of us pray regularly, he notes. We pray when our child is ill and we pray for trivial things, such as lost car keys. Why then, as Yancey found when interviewing people, do so many find prayer a burden and not a pleasure? After all, it came so easily to Adam in the garden --- walking with God and conversing with Him.
  
  Yancey writes that prayer doesn't come easily for him and confesses he appreciates prayer mostly in retrospect. "I look for ways to avoid it and keep glancing at the clock as I'm praying." But even these prayers are meaningful. "During the day, however, thoughts and impressions come to mind that stem directly from my prayers.... Like a lingering scent, prayer carries over into the rest of the day."
  
  Yancey finds that most of his struggles in the Christian life circle around the same two themes: why God doesn't act the way we want God to, and why we don't act the way God wants us to. He writes, "Prayer is the precise point where those themes converge."
  
  If prayer is about a relationship with God, perhaps it's no surprise that it is a rollercoaster of ups and downs. "Prayer includes moments of ecstasy and also dullness, mindless distraction and acute concentration, flashes of joy and bouts of irritation. In other words, prayer has features in common with all relationships that matter," he writes.
  
  In this relationship with God, we don't have to be afraid to show our emotions: fear, anger, grief. God wants us to come to Him with honesty. After all, if He knows everything about us, down to the number of hairs on our heads, He already knows our feelings. Our willingness to approach Him honestly, however, may be tempered with our image of God. Do we see Him as an angry, vengeful God? A helpless wimp? A loving father? Good food for thought.
  
  I appreciated Yancey's rejection of a "one-size-fits-all" sort of approach to prayer. Most of all, he calls us to relax. There's no right way to pray. The only wrong way is not to try. "Prayer is a way of relating to God, not a skill set like double-entry bookkeeping.... It should hardly surprise God that we respond in a way that reflects our true self."
  
  If you like an author who doesn't have all the answers but is willing to explore the questions with you, then this book will be a good fit. Yancey offers no pat answers. "Why does God so rarely step in and bring miraculous intervention to our prayer requests? Why is suffering distributed so randomly and unfairly? No one knows the complete answer to these questions."
  
  As Yancey explores various facets of prayer --- listening, petitioning, postures, prayer in the midst of suffering --- he draws several important conclusions. The main purpose of prayer is not to make life easier nor to gain magical powers, but to know God. Prayer gives us corrective vision and helps us align our petitions with what God wants for us. Prayer is a habit of attention. Asking for help, acknowledging our dependence, is at the root of prayer. Without prayer, he writes, we cannot effect social justice.
  
  Why pray? Yancey offers several thoughts on the matter. "I pray to restore the truth of the universe, to gain a glimpse of the world, and of me, through the eyes of God," he writes in one chapter. In another, he notes simply, "Evidently, God likes to be asked."
  
  Yancey's PRAYER contains a smorgasbord of references to other writers, inviting readers to further explore many rich writings on prayer from both Protestant and Catholic traditions. Just a few that are included: C.S. Lewis, Walter Wangerin Jr., Meister Eckhart, Ole Hallesby, E.M. Bounds, Thomas Merton, Frederick Buechner, Desmond Tutu, Eugene Peterson, Carlo Caretto, Mother Teresa, Anthony Bloom, Thomas Kelly, Henri Nouwen and Brennan Manning. Scattered throughout the book are boxed essays by writers noted simply as "John" or "Anthony" or "Sara." I particularly liked these simple, personal stories from people who are taking baby steps toward the discipline of prayer.
  
  Yancey engagingly uses nature as a touchstone throughout the book, from an anecdote about watching a herd of elk in a meadow and contemplating a quiet mind and absorbed attention, to the grandeur of God and our own smallness as seen hiking in the mountains. However, the extensive footnotes on many pages are one distracting part of the book. One may find themselves wishing for endnotes or, if you're forty-something like me, at least bigger type.
  
  In the end, does prayer matter? Yancey writes, "When doubts creep in and I wonder whether prayer is a sanctified form of talking to myself, I remind myself that the Son of God, who had spoken worlds into being and sustains all that exists, felt a compelling need to pray."
  
  Can we do no less?
  
  --- Reviewed by Cindy Crosby...more info
• Thought-provoking and uplifting
  Yancey succeeds again in not shying away from difficult topics and explores the difficulties and blessings of prayer.
  
  As usual, his insights and personal vulnerability are the true gems of the work and his genuine desire to share and help others grow gives the book a credibile kindness that helps inspire the reader to keep trying prayer no matter the difficulties.
  
  If you like Yancey I highly recommend J.G. Marking's "A Voice Is Calling" and Erwin McManus....more info
• Does this book answer anything new?
  Phillip Yancey has again given the reader much to think about. Some things are good to think over but chapters like "Does Prayer Change God" delves into many thinkers ideas over the years and has lots of stories and challenges. He says, "God waits to be asked and that's part of our part and exercise of faith."...more info
• Prayer: Does It Make Any Difference?
  Prayer...a lifeline...to stay connected with the Creator Of The Universe...MORE joy, peace, help and deepening trust...the REAL and LASTING and needed CHANGE for TODAY and FOREVER (more than any new US President can bring)...my cup is full and is spilling over as I keep engaging in a relationship with my LORD and SAVIOR....more info