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| Prayer: Does It Make Any Difference? | 
 enlarge | Author: Philip Yancey
Publisher: Zondervan
Category: Book
List Price: $21.99
Buy New: $8.49
You Save: $13.50 (61%)
Buy New/Used/Collectible from $8.20
Avg. Customer Rating:  (64 reviews)
Sales Rank: 1685
Languages: English (Original Language), English (Unknown), English (Published)
Media: Hardcover
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 352
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1.3
Dimensions (in): 8.9 x 5.9 x 1.2
ISBN: 0310271053
Dewey Decimal Number: 248.32
EAN: 9780310271055
ASIN: 0310271053
Publication Date: October 1, 2006
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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| Customer Reviews:
 Searching for Answers March 9, 2008
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
In his book "Prayer" Philip Yancey is strangely reticent about stating his own opinions on prayer. The book is filled with moving, poignant stories and examples of prayers that apparently worked, or didn't.
Unlike his blockbuster "What's So Amazing About Grace", Yancey seems to tiptoe around the central topic as though he has still not decided whether or not Prayer is effective.
He repeatedly cites Bible verses which state unequivocally that God wants us to pray; God tells us that prayer will be heard; that God will answer our prayer, but then Yancey tends to duck the question and simply bring out the "...some will; some won't" series of stories about prayer.
Parts of the book are extremely positive and touching, and there are major portions that leave one with more questions than answers. On purpose, it would seem.
The book may have been a better book if it had been about 1/3 shorter, more around 215 pages than 342.
I would recommend the book, with some reservations myself. I found the book helpful as a study on prayer. It probably is NOT one I would recommend to new, or searching Christians. For anyone else, it would be a simple study on political double-talk.
 How to get closer to God February 1, 2008
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
I have read many of Phillip Yancy's books. Each of them has helped me in different ways. This book has helped me to understand how I can get closer to God. I often felt like I wasn't worthy to talk to God because of something I did that I wasn't proud of. I have learned that this is the perfect time to talk to God. Wouldn't you go to your earthly father if you needed someone to talk too? Yancey also teaches us that going to God with our worries is not the only time we should talk to Him. We all need to spend time praising Him. Nothing pleases God more than to hear our praise, and He wants to dwell even more with us during that time. I haven't found a Yancey book that I didn't like and this book is no exception.
Doug Bolton
Provoking . . . in a good way January 21, 2008
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
This is no self-help book on prayer. It is, rather, a series of meditations, a personal memoir, if you will. While I do not agree with Yancey on every area of doctrine, I was provoked, in a good way, to examine my own prayer life and grow, especially in the direction of viewing prayer from God's perspective. Along with, Lewis's Letters to Malcomb, Chiefly on Prayer and MacIntyre's Hidden Life of Prayer (free on the internet), Yancey's book has had a sanctifying effect on me and, therefore, meditating on his thoughts through the lense of biblical context is something I recommend to others.
 Lots of Questions, No real answers December 9, 2007
6 out of 14 found this review helpful
If you enjoy reading personal accounts of peoples struggles in life and prayer this book may be for you. But if you are truly interested in a solid biblical understanding of prayer, look elsewhere. While the chapter titles would lead you believe there is substance to be found, the content is sadly lacking. Dr. Yancey seems to believe that we can learn about prayer from just about anyone....Mother Teresa, Oscar Wilde, Bono...to be fair, he also quotes from many fine biblical scholars, but it all seems to come to the same man centered conclusions. In an effort to be all inclusive, the author leaves the reader with very few clear truths to understand the critical importance and privilege of prayer. Perhaps it is a sign of our times that so many other reviews would see this book as helpful. My conclusion is clearly otherwise. Psalm 62:8 NKJV
Not for the faint of heart October 21, 2007
3 out of 3 found this review helpful
Phillip Yancy writes for me only, I believe. My 18 year old son died of cancer 5 years ago. I was raised in a very loving Christian home; I was an excellent Pharisee, we didn't question God or his decisions. After my son died, I had to look harder at what I believed about God. All of his books that I have read let me question without abandoning my faith. I suppose that my absolute favorite is What is so Amazing about Grace. After I read it, I was so relieved; God cannot love me anymore and He cannot love me any less. But I was also ashamed; I do not look at all the people who are not like me as people who God also loves. My actions are not the same unconditional love that recognizes that we ALL have a thirst for someone who loves us. However, if you cannot wonder, you will not like most of his books.
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