PRAYER IS NOT AN OPTION: IT'S A COMMAND

Christian minister Garcia calls for a renewed faith in the power of prayer in her nonfiction debut.

Many Christians only pray during weekly church services, or only in times of need. However, in this strong work, Garcia challenges this practice. She cites biblical references that indicate that prayer should not only be continuous, but also difficult, at times: “Is your worship costing you anything?” she asks. “If it isn’t, you must examine your heart and make sure it’s prepared and ready to worship God.” The key, in her view, is the intensely personal nature of prayer, which, in the New Testament, is often conducted in solitude. Her book’s chapters are often broken into many smaller sections, featuring insets containing bullet-pointed insights. Overall, they include many prayers for many occasions, all oriented around the idea of intimate communication with God. Prayer is not concerned with checklists of personal needs, she notes; its focus shouldn’t be on what the faithful have to say to God, but what God has to say to the faithful: “Prayer is like having your phone ring,” the author points out. “When we don’t answer the call to pray, we miss out on what God wants to say to us.” Overall, Garcia uses a clear and accessible prose style to target the practice of facile, lip service prayer, and to encourage readers to pray for the homeless, for orphans, for the outcasts of society who were the focus of Jesus’ ministry (“he did not discriminate. He was available to all people”); she also urges, as Jesus did, prayer for one’s enemies. In the end, this book’s intended audience of fellow Christians will find many simple but valuable affirmations in this book’s pages.

A passionate appeal to Christians to embrace selflessness in their prayer rituals.