Sometimes our walk with God seems so difficult. We struggle to find the time to pray, the words to say, and the way to pray them. Are we making prayer more complicated than it needs to be?
Charlie Dawes is a pastor and professor who understands both the desires and the challenges of deepening our prayer lives. He has identified simple, biblical prayers that will help you unlock the mystery of conversing with God by paring our words down to their most elemental level. By focusing our prayers, we can open up a new way of relating with God that we have never before experienced.
Simple prayer is far from simplistic. Instead, it will help you connect with God at a heart level that cannot be mastered with words alone.
Table of Contents:
Foreword by Mark Batterson
Introduction
1. What Is Simple Prayer?
2. Simple Prayer of the Heart
3. Simple Prayer of Faith
4. Simple Prayer of Forgiveness
5. Simple Prayer of Unity
6. Simple Prayer of Restoration
7. Simple Words to Pray
8. Simple Prayer of Finding Your Way
Notes
About the Author :
Charlie Dawes (DMin, George Fox Evangelical Seminary) is a pastor at Metro Church DC. He was formerly associate vice president for student development at Southeastern University in Lakeland, Florida, as well as assistant professor in practical ministries in the college of Christian ministries and religion. Charlie has served the local church for over seventeen years as a student and young adult pastor and worship leader. He is married to Nicole and they have three children.
Review :
"Behind every story of redemption in God's kingdom is some kind of story of prayer. Dawes is not just offering a kind of theology of prayer that is simple and easy. Rather, he is subversively giving us a way to experience redemption. Eat this book. Slowly. Like dark chocolate. It very well may open up an entirely new story for redemption in your life."
"There are those books you read when the timing is just right and the words on a page are more Technicolor than black and white. Every once in a while, a book intersects your theology, your praxis, and our culture at exactly the right moment to produce catalytic growth and deep transformation. Simple Prayer is such a book. If you're tired, worn out, and burned out on religion, this book invites you to a new, ancient way of connecting with the triune God."
"Charlie Dawes is restless and ready to walk the more difficult path, if that's what it takes to follow Jesus. And yet his is a simple spirituality—one that begins with 'breathe in, breathe out' and the simple prayers that follow. The words that form his prayers are expertly woven throughout his story. Charlie is an avid storyteller—one whose readers are delighted upon finding their own story and prayer within his pages."
"In Simple Prayer, we encounter a young man groaning for a deeper connection to God—a connection not to be gained by jettisoning his heritage among the charismatics, but one that will deepen what he already knows. Charlie Dawes discovered a simple prayer in the deepest pockets of the Christian tradition, and this led him to look for other simple prayers throughout the Scriptures. To read this book is to be challenged to go deeper with God through the simplest of prayers."
"I've seen Charlie Dawes in many roles. Son, husband, father. Speaker, pastor, worship leader. Professor, writer, friend. In each position he functions with a creative mind and a compassionate spirit. His words can invite others into a world of Christlikeness in any area. Don't miss the chance to learn from a man who has chosen to continue learning daily in every area of life."
"We live in a time when a generation is fixated on being consistently connected through the internet. It's refreshing to read a book so well written about our connection with our Creator. I believe this book will encourage people to see prayer not as a chore but as a choice—a choice that enables us to have that intimate relationship with God that he designed us for."
"Simple Prayer has an authenticity, specificity, and electricity that is incandescent. Dawes shows how simplicity of prayer is the ultimate maturity of faith and sophistication of soul."
"Prayer is the forefront of the spiritual life and essential to our development as disciples, yet practicing prayer is overcomplicated more often than not. Simple Prayer brings us back to the basics, encouraging us to make prayer a matter of the heart. This book paves the way for you to know and be known by God."
"This is a must-read on how to make prayer more personal and powerful. Simple Prayer is as practical as it is challenging, with Charlie Dawes ending each chapter actually putting simple prayers to practice. As the reader, you quickly come to realize that this is not just another book on prayer, but rather a book that leads you in prayer. You will marvel at how much more meaningful your prayer life can become."
"As someone who uses more than my fair share of words during the day, my prayer life is similar. This book by my friend Charlie Dawes helps leaders like me understand the simple ways that the Lord allows us to know him and speak with him. And oftentimes it's with less, not more!"
