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| Prayer: Does It Make Any Difference? | 
 enlarge | Author: Philip Yancey
Publisher: Zondervan
Category: Book
List Price: $21.99
Buy New: $9.92
You Save: $12.07 (55%)
Buy New/Used/Collectible from $7.66
Avg. Customer Rating:  (66 reviews)
Sales Rank: 5240
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:
 What? Only four stars for a Philip Yancey book? September 11, 2007
3 out of 4 found this review helpful
"Prayer -- Does it Make Any Differnce?"
For an avid and respectful Philip Yancey fan like myself, it is embarrassing to withold a full five stars. But my one reservation is a very serious one. Would it be fair to describe Yancey's position as "it is good to pray constantly, but don't expect a specific tangible answer to a personal prayer"?
In a book that addresses the question of whether prayer makes any difference it is a serious oversight not to investigate and report on ministries where it demonstatedly does make a differnce, such as the MacNutt's in Jacksonville. These mild-mannered, well educated, and considerate people of integrity do not claim healings that didn't happen, and have kept careful records of their years of experience. Has Yancey seriously studied their ministry with an open mind? Is he willing to sit down to talk with them? Or does he cling to the devastating 19th century nonscriptural doctrine that "miracles are not for today"?
A controlled experiment, published in December 2000, compared the effect of prayer on three groups with the same terminal illness: by trained, hands-on believers (James 5:14,15) by distant intercessors, and a control group is significant.
A test should be patterned after the way God actually heals today rather than one that tells God what he must do to convince us.
A book on Prayer certainly is should include exploring the effect of praying the kind of healing taught by Jesus and practiced by his disciples. See where it is working, not where we've failed.
Respectfully sharing. RHP
 Talks too Fast September 9, 2007
5 out of 7 found this review helpful
I bought Mr. Yancey's hard copy book "Prayer" and I realized that it was a spectacular book with so much information that it was going to be hard to retain a lot of it. When this happens and I really want to learn from a book, I will purchase the book on tape to be able to listen to it and absorb the information. That was my goal with purchasing the audio version of this book. My criticism is this: The gentleman narrating talks far too fast. I'm from a large urban city and have been told that I can talk rather fast -- and I'm saying this guy talks too fast! Perhaps it wouldn't annoy anyone else -- I am trying to absorb information from this book and a more thoughtful slow read would have been beneficial to me. Perhaps it won't be an issue with anyone else. And I have absolutely no complaints about the content as the book is excellent. Just know that the audioversion moves along at quite a brisk clip!
 Yancy asks the question September 4, 2007
A good investigation of Prayer and how it affects our lives and our perception of it. The references in the book are also good in learning about other Christians and their beliefs. Yancy is like a guide- always asking questions and taking you further down the path.
Many questions. Few answers. Tale of a journey. August 16, 2007
10 out of 11 found this review helpful
I have not read any of Yancey's previous books. I read this because I have a heart after prayer, am a prayer leader and am in the process of raising up a house of prayer in my region. So, I read as much on prayer as I can. I was disappointed in the book to a great degree. That being said, Yancey was very transparent, which is admirable. He asked lots of questions that we all ask, and he wonders aloud about things that perplex him about prayer. Perhaps the book should have been titled differently. If you are looking for a book of someone's honest personal journey in seeking to understand prayer better, this book is intriguing. He covered a number of foundational areas in prayer and was accurate in his assessment of certain topics. But he never really provides answers to learn to more effectively pray and doesn't seem to reach a conclusion other than to admit we should pray even though he doesn't seem personally convinced that it makes any difference. You get the sense he thinks the benefits of prayer are almost more therapeutic than anything else. He approaches a spiritual discipline that is exercised based completely on faith and tries to explain and approach it from a mental/natural perspective to try to explain something that is spiritual, not physical.
I don't have a clue about his theology. But I find it interesting that he goes out of his way to criticize those who operate in faith, particularly in the area of healing. And he reaches his conclusions in many cases by interviewing other people. He doesn't attempt to give Scriptural answers, but relies on his polling of a limited number of people in the area of prayer to reach some of his conclusions. He talks about balance, but I don't think Jesus ever taught us to be balanced. He taught us to be radical. At any rate, he is openly critical of some who have ministries of healing, like Benny Hinn. Some don't like Hinn's personality and flambouyance, at times. And I doubt Yancey has ever been to one of his meetings but is basing his conclusion on what others say or what he has seen on television. The fact is many do get healed at Hinn's meetings, and they are documented. He also states he doesn't have the faith to believe for a limb to be re-grown. At least he is honest. But I know missionaries who have seems missing limbs grow back as a result of a prayer for healing in other countries. He seems to think there comes a time when we just have to resign ourselves to being sick, accept it and stop praying for healing. I can't accept that. And it's interesting to me that Jesus never refused to heal anyone who asked.
It's quite clear that no one has all the answers, especially when it comes to why it seems our prayers are not answered at times. But he seems bothered by a person saying some answers don't come due to a lack of faith on our part. When the diciples were praying for someone to be healed and it wasn't happening and they asked Him why, He told them is was due to their lack of faith. Why does the hair stand up on the back of someone's neck and get them in a huff when it's suggested the answer to their prayer may not have come due to a lack of faith on their part? The disciples didn't seem offended by His comment, but instead sought to have Him teach them to have more faith. It may not be a lack of faith, but we should at least be open to consider that possibility.
He provides a list of resources on prayer at the end of his book. I found it interesting that having read dozens of books on prayer and intercession to become more effective at it personally, that the only one he mentions of all the works I have read on prayer to learn more about this discipline is the Complete Works of E.M. Bounds. He doesn't mention any of the current instructive books on prayer and intercession, including Intercessory Prayer by Dutch Sheets. Nor does he include the biography of one of the most effective and committed intercessors of all time, Rees Howell. My point is that there are so many other resources that would have helped him on this journey and could have answered many of his unanswered questions, but he apparently has not read them. If he expanded his horizons, I think he would find that the people he interviewed to assist in reaching the conslusions he did come to were not an accurate or complete representation of reality. He should visit Heidi Baker's ministry in Mozambique some time. It would blow him away and challenge many of his assumptions and conclusions. I don't know why some aren't healed, but I am not going to give up and stop praying for the sick because I don't understand why some aren't healed. And I have seen people healed when I pray, so I know it happens today and is at times clearly a result of a specific prayer at a specific time. That being said, the Lord uses doctors and medicine to heal as well. But then there are some things they cannot do anything about other than treat symptoms.
So, in conclusion, if you are looking to read a book about a personal journey of learning to pray and joining together in the journey with someone who may have the same questions you do, this book is very interesting reading. And he is very transparent and honest in sharing his feelings. But if you are reading this book as a resource to learn to become more effective in prayer and to increase your faith and ability to pray at a more advanced level and see results, then this is probably not the right book for you.
EXCELLENT!!! August 16, 2007
I listened to the book on CD and absolutely recommend this title. While the first portion of the book was a bit "slow" - it quickly picked up after that, giving one real "meat" on the topic. Kudos to the authors.
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