Craig T. Owens

There is no more powerful way to pray than to pray using the Scriptures. If you are a parent, you probably know what it is to have a child say to you, “Mom/Dad, you said….” When we pray to God using God’s Word we’re essentially doing the same thing. A great resource to help you learn how to do this is Max Lucado’s newest book Praying The Promises. 

In the introduction, Max says, “As people who believe God’s promises, we have an advantage. We can determine to ponder, proclaim, and pray the promises of God. We can be like Abraham, who ‘didn’t tiptoe around God’s promise asking cautiously skeptical questions. He plunged into the promise and came up strong’ (Romans 4:20 The Message). We can choose to filter life through the promises of God. For every problem in life, God has given us a promise. When struggles threaten, we can find hope by praying those promises.”

Every chapter contains: 

• a short “unshakable hope” reminder, 
• a handful of biblical passages that are the foundation for our unshakable hope, 
• a model prayer using those passages of Scripture, 
• a simple declarative “I am” or “I will” statement to carry with you the rest of the day. 

In our hurly-burly, topsy-turvy, anxiety-prone world we need something that can put our feet on solid ground. There can be no more unshakable truth than to know that God keeps His Word, and that we can stand on those rock-solid promises. The prayers in Praying The Promises will, I trust, help you read the Bible in a new light, as you see more and more promises which you can turn into prayer to our All-loving, All-powerful Heavenly Father. 

I am a Thomas Nelson book reviewer.