Pray About Everything by Paul Tautges

Pray about Everything: Cultivating God-Dependency by Paul Tautges
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This short and convicting book points us to thankfulness and reasons for prayer--as well as reasons for suffering. There are reasons listed for hindered prayer. Details are given on some Scriptural word meanings, and sometimes a quote from classic theologians. But perhaps the most lastingly helpful are the appendices, where outlines for prayer meetings and Bible studies are given, including songs and Scriptures. If these are applied, they could effect the way a church runs, how fellowship grows, and how hearts are changed.

Here are a few quotes from the book that I like:

'Just as the expansion and contraction of our lungs in necessary for the continuance of our physical life, so regular fellowship with God in prayer is essential to our spiritual well-being. Without prayer our spiritual lives will shrivel up and return to an infantile state.'

'As long as the eyes of our faith are fixed upon our troubles we will not find joy. Until our minds consciously move the Lord from our peripheral vision into the narrow corridor of our focus, joy will elude us.'

'When we find ourselves praying for something that we want, perhaps more than anything we've ever wanted before, can we honestly pray, 'Lord, do what will bring you the most glory"?'

'If we regularly ponder the depth of our own sinfulness, like the woman who washed Jesus' feet with her tears, and consider the greater depth of God's forgiveness, we will grow in our love for him. It is when we forget God's benefits that our hearts become proud. If we are not careful, we who have been forgiven much can act like those who think they have been forgiven little and, consequently, become slow to forgive others who sin against us.'