Andrew Murray on Prayer

My dad was an intercessor who passed the legacy on to me. I didn't realize how significant that work was until reading this book by Andrew Murray. He explains how intercessors enter into the work with Jesus, the Mediator who does the same work in Heaven. As we follow the lead of our great High Priest, we are doing His work on earth. Throughout this book Murray reminds us of the vital role of intercessory work. "Disciples of Jesus, you are called to be like your Lord in His priestly intercession!" he writes. Prayer that succeeds is prayer which expects results. Murray tells his readers to expect answers. "Faith can only live by feeding on what is divine, on God Himself," we're told. Not all prayers are answered immediately. He uses Scripture to point this out. Persistent prayer is willing to wait. Being in God's presence takes a commitment of time. "Take time in prayer to listen to His voice," Murray advises. He teaches the way to exercise faith is to discover God's will on a given matter through hearing what He has to say in interactive prayer.

Murray's primer on prayer is actually a collection of the great preacher's writings on the subject. It is best to read this with an open copy of the scriptures nearby. The reader is advised to spend some quiet meditative hours, allowing the Holy Spirit to encourage and correct. This book is a bargain, too, for the price.

This book is a must read for any Christian who is seeking an intimate relationship with the Lord. I began reading it during a difficult time in my life (when we all seek answers) and Andrew Murray literally took me by the hand and taught me that the most important thing one can do to develop intimacy with the Lord, receive direction in life from Him, and really begin to understand the heart of the Father, is through the single act of continuous, disciplined prayer. It has transformed my Christian walk and I am confident it will do the same for you. However, it is not an easy path and you will find that God is not a microwave. You can just pop in your prayers and expect an immediate answer. Our Lord desires a deep, intimate relationship with His children and it is through deliberate, disciplined prayer, followed by obedience, that we get there. It costs a great deal, but the reward is incomprehensible. Buy this book!

This work by Dutch Reformed Pastor Andrew Murray is actually 5 of his books in one volume; Abide in Christ, The Prayer Life, Waiting on God, With Christ in the School of Prayer, The Ministry of Intercession, and The Secret of Intercession. What distinguishes this book from many modern day books on prayer is that Pastor Murray's focus is squarely on the Person of Jesus Christ and establishing a relationship with Him, whereas many of the modern day works on prayer focus on how to squeeze your desires out of God, as if He were a "Jeanie in a Bottle," granting your every wish. Pastor Murray's work is no mere intellectualization of prayer, but rather gentle, Godly, scriptural guidance on how to experience the Person of God through His only provided means of doing so, and that is by prayer. Rev. Murray uses scores of scriptures to illustrate that it is God's will for His children to experience and enjoy Him in His fullness. This work will transform the prayer life of anyone willing to humble themselves before Him.

This is a must read on the topic of prayer. Murray has been an expert on this subject for almost 100 years. Few books can compare to this one.