God on Mute: Engaging the Silence of Unanswered Prayer

Perhaps this book was meaningful to me because Pete's experiences, along with his wife, Samie's, have parallels to my own. Plenty of people have theoretical answers to what happens when God is silent in the midst of life's inevitable crises, but such people are rarely helpful when the bottom actually falls out. I greatly appreciated the transparency and honesty of this volume. It was refreshing not to be smothered with the obligatory Christian pablum and spiritual platitudes about suffering. Therefore, I am not embarrassed to recommend this book to friends when events do not go according to the script they would prefer, and God seems nowhere to be found in the midst of the pain and confusion.

Pete's Greig's book, God on Mute, has to be one of the most honest and compelling discussions of prayer I've ever had the pleasure to read. Gone are the platitudes and cliches regarding prayer and how it is supposed to work that one finds in most contemporary discussions on prayer. Instead, framed within the four days of Christ's passion, the reader finds an honest discussion about unanswered prayer and those times when God chooses to be silent. Written from Greig's own experience when confronted with his wife's serious medical condition, the book starts from the questions of why and where is God from Christ's experience in the Garden of Gethsemane and works through issues of prayer including lament and issues of abandonment (Good Friday and Christ's crucifixion), the silence of God (Saturday and Christ in the tomb) and the hope that springs eternal both in the future but also in the here and now (Christ's resurrection). The reader will not find easy answers in this book and therein lies it's strength. Greig does an excellent job summing up the theology and thinking behind unanswered prayer and also in giving that theology a human face. These are not abstract discussions about prayer but very real considerations faced by anyone who has pleaded to God for something and not received an answer. I would recommend this book to anyone seeking to better understand real prayer in a real world with a real God. I cannot praise it highly enough.

From Maundy Thursday to Good Friday to Silent Saturday and then Easter Sunday, Pete and Samie Greig use the blessing of their Life's story to share the same with the reader. God on Mute - Engaging The Silence of Unanswered Prayer is a very important topic, relevant to our times as people seek the precarious and shallow certainty in various forms of fundamentalism --- in a number of faith persuasions that populate this planet...not only the Christian faith. Thus, this is a book I would recommend to Muslims, Hindus, Jews -- whatever the favor of your faith is today. Been "burned" by "unanswered prayer? Be honest. Have questions about unanswered prayer? Buy this book and savor the reality of the life story of two people who's feet are planted firmly in the earth of the reality of daily living --- no matter what country or culture you might presently reside in. Listen to Samie and Pete in a few quotes below: Samie - p. 260 "I don't always understand God's ways in my life, but I'm absolutely certain that He can be trusted." Pete - p. 23 - "It seems to me thst those of us who spend our time encouraging people to pray and share the amazing stories of unanswered prayer also have a sworn duty to care for those whose prayers appear not to be working." Pete - p.211 "Life's great trials invariably make us bitter or make us better. They never leave us unchanged." Pete - p. 67 "It is ultimately not comforting to abandon all hope of miracles by shrinking our view of God's power to the size of our own pain." Pete p. 19 - "Christians are quick to spread glory stories, but disappointments tend to be brushed under the carpet because we don't want to discourage anyone at church or be a bad commercial at work. But God isn't like us. He doesn't get insecure about His performance, and He never asks us to cover up for Him." Pete p.55 - "The God of the cosmos thinks you are amazing. You! Not just some heavenly, idealized version you might one day become. You --- the person who does such stupid things. You --- thje one with bad hair, bad breath and bad desires." Finally, Pete p. 125 - "In spite of all the increases in technology and increased life expectancy, there is an extraordinary fragility to our generation. We collapse easily, our marriages fall apart, and we are quick to take offence. In our celebrity obsessed world that is cosseted away from death and anesthesized against pain, we need to be reminded that it's normal to have problems, get sick, experience financial challenges and face relational breakdown. Jesus promises us, "You will have trouble" (John 16:33), but not many of us stick that verse on the fridge." I adored this book. It's a lesson that can only be taught by those who have lived it and had the courage and disciplne to share it with us. Read it. You'll be sorry if you don't. Thank you very much Pete and Samie. Bill Dahl

Pete Grieg, founder of the 24-7 Prayer Ministry, tackles the tough questions we face during times when it seems like God is silent, and our prayers are not being heard--much less answered. Facing his wife's health problems and a crisis of his own faith, Greig examines Christ's last three days on earth, finding insight in this slice of Christ's life during which even the prayers of Jesus seemed met with Divine silence. On Maundy Thursday, Jesus asks the Father to spare him from suffering. On Good Friday, Christ cries out "God, why have you forsaken me?" As the events of Holy Week unfold, it is clear that God allows suffering and does not answer the 'why' questions, even when Jesus asks. Throughout the book, author Greig scatters fifteen possible reasons for unanswered prayer, including having selfish motives, praying against the laws of nature, and the fact that our own fallible free will is often at work. Each chapter of the books ends with an appropriate prayer through which the reader is drawn to seek and understand God's ways more deeply. Appendices include a list of heroes of the faith, with their own experiences of unanswered prayer, plus a discussion guide for small groups and a personal checklist that the reader can use to evaluate her or his own prayer life. Avoiding simplistic formulas, this is a much-needed book for those who suffer and seem unable to access God's help. Clearly, the author is a fellow struggler--but one who points the way to grace and maturity. The Foreword is by Brian McLaren, author of numerous Christian books. Armchair Interviews says: Powerful message at Easter time and all the year through

Pete Greig gives us an example of real faith and courage as he tells the story of the perilous journey he and his wife Samie have been on since a tumor the size of an orange was removed from her brain and she was left with chronic epilepsy. Though leaders in an international prayer ministry called 24-7, Pete and his wife have had to deal with the issue of praying hard for healing in Samie's body, being grateful for the preservation of her life, but having to accept just partial healing. Using the prayers of Jesus' final days (agony in the garden on Thursday, from the cross on Friday, the silence of Saturday, and the triumph of Easter) is a brilliant way to show that our prayers may come out of anguish--but so did those of Jesus. In the end, Pete and his wife are left with real faith (stripped to its essence) in the true God, and they show us how to go forward in life with the best prayer of all: "Lord, have mercy..."