Books : Prayer: Does it Make Any Difference: Does It Make Any Difference

Rating: - It certainly made a difference to me!
This is mt first Philip Yancey book and I`ve been devouring it in any spare moments I get; on the train, waiting in lines, even on the toilet!

I found that I had some real problems with prayer and how best to approach it and how to get motivated; so I was interested in this book. At the start of the book Yancey explains "My main qualification for writing about prayer is that I feel unqualified - and genuinely want to learn."

I think that this humble and honest approach to writing about prayer really helped me. He peppers his writing with a variety of short interview extracts made by everyday people on prayer; their struggles and their accomplishments.

Above all the book is insightful and although it doesn`t teach you how to prayer (it`s not a guide) I found that it made prayer seem like less of a chore and more rewarding. Thanks Philip!

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Rating: - First Time - Disappointed
This book on Prayer was the first book by the author that I have started to read. It was given to me as a gift and I had no particular questions or problems with prayer when I started to read it. Although I appreciate the author not being a fundamentalist, I have to say I have found the book to give me more problems than help. I have found it to be doubt-ridden, meandering and tedious. I am also disappointed that he left his wife for days on end to write it. Not recommended.

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Rating: - Uplifting
Philip Yancey is a credible spiritual/Christian writer with a number of uplifting and inspiring books to his credit. This, an exploration on the subject of prayer is similar to his other books, in that they offer hope and a realistic rather than dogmatic approach. Can he absolutely prove that prayer works? No. But perhaps in this book that is not the point- is prayer useful and important? Again this cannot be absolutely proved in the positive however Yancey presents a good argument in an enjoyable, down to earth manner. Worthwhile for Christians and open minded non-Christians alike.

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Rating: - Disappointed with Yancey
I've appreciated other books by Philip Yancey - especially "Disappointed With God" and "The Jesus I Never Knew" because he didn't duck the awkward questions but asked them and tried honestly to answer them. With this volume, he doesn't address some of the really difficult questions about prayer (human freewill; response to some prayers but not others)and in his answers to the questions he does ask, he drops into "standard response" mode - platitudes that don't offer the answers - if they did, we wouldn't need a book like this. Good as far as it goes but that's all - I got more from a brief essay by CS Lewis in an Appendix to "Miracles" - On "Special Providences" that offers a very short but clear and logical discussion of prayer

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Rating: - The long journey into prayer
Yancey is, as always, concise and honest. Honesty is one of the trademarks of Yancey's writing, and you need a fair chunk of that when researching prayer. He acknowledges it's hard for most of us to pray, my favourite line: 'It's more important to God that you 'show up' than what you actually pray'.

In my long journey into prayer, this book helped me feel more 'normal'. He deals with all the problems I face. Very encouraging, made me want to keep on going.