remember God falls short

Annie Downs, in her latest book, Remember God (B&H Publishers, 2018) tackles a question that many Christians struggle with on a regular basis: Why isn’t God answering my prayers? Oh, she may phrase it a little differently: Is God kind?, but we all know what she means. I pray, I talk with God, to God, listen to God, but my prayers aren’t answered. 

If God is so kind, good, and loving, how could He let me go on like this? I understand her question, I feel her pain, and I’ve been there myself. As have most of us.

I appreciated her insights into the question, I was glad that she has been able to come to grips with the reality that God is not a benevolent fairy godmother that grants her every wish. I was glad to read that even when it seems like God isn’t answering our prayers that often he is waiting for us to see things through his eyes, or that he is asking us to wait upon His perfect plan, and His perfect timing. Sometimes He is asking us to find peace in what we have rather than in what we think we should be getting.

Having said that, I had a difficult time reading the book. Not because the theology was off, not because I found her logic to be faulty, or her answers incorrect, but because the style of writing just doesn’t appeal to me. I could have been reading someone’s journal, and in fact page 149 starts with “this opening section is an actual excerpt from my journal during that season.’  Although I appreciate it when authors personalize their writing with some life events, having the focus be the life event, with a nod towards how that applies to the thesis, just doesn’t interest me.

In short, I guess I’m not part of the target audience for this book.

I received a copy of the book for being a part of the publisher’s bloggers’ program. I was not required to write a positive review.

3/5