be bold, pray bold

I have learned a lot about prayer over the years from the books I read. For example, God is not offended by big prayers—He would much rather we reach out in faith than have us doubt His abilities by only praying the smallest of prayers. Or things like ‘unprayed prayers’ don’t get answered. So when I saw the opportunity to read Pray Big Things: The Surprising Life God Has for You When You’re BOLD ENOUGH TO ASK (Julia Jeffress Sadler, Baker Books, 2019) I jumped at the chance.

Let me start by saying that I don’t disagree with any of Sadler’s claims or assertions about prayer, and she does have some pretty compelling stories of how God answered her prayers (after several miscarriages with that associated heartbreak, she and her husband prayed specifically for 1) biological children, 2) multiples and 3) both genders—the result was healthy triplets).

But as far as reading the book, it was hard for me to stay engaged. I blame it more on my preference for writing style than anything else, but still, this is not a book that grabbed my attention and refused to let go. There were no earth-shattering moments, no new ideas, nothing that caught my attention and caused me to wonder why I hadn’t considered that before.

And coming from a preacher, it seemed that there were almost too many scripture references. They all fit, but I often got the idea that some of the quotes from scripture were there because the chapter needed a few more words.  Reading this book for me was like listening to a new preacher: they have a point to make, or want to get a particular message across, so they look for verses, sometimes out of context, that seem to support their point of view. And when you only have 15 minutes worth of words for your 20 minute message, how better to fill the time than to quote Jesus.

I received a copy of this book from the publisher as a member of their bloggers’ program. I was not required to write a positive review.

3/5