I tend to measure the usefulness of a book on prayer on whether it inspires me to pray more. This book does just that and not just because it provides a variety of prayers to pray. Chris Hodges church in Birmingham, Alabama has a well known reputation for being a praying church. They don't just say they do it but they actually do it as individuals, intercessors for the needs of congregants and others and corporately at weekly prayer meetings and twice annual 21-day prayer and fasting cycles.

Hodges leads from the front as is clearly evident in this book both from his own personal reflections on the significance of prayer in his life and that of the church but from the various models he provides in this book. These models come from a "Pray First Prayer Guide" that the church has been using for many years now.

The book is split into three sections:
1. Lessons on Prayer - it's importance in terms of knowing God
2. Prayer Models and How to Use them - this includes such items as the Lord's Prayer, Interceding for others, spiritual warfare prayers and the like
3. Prayer and Fasting - once again, fasting has been very important in Hodges and the church's life. This section delves in the why and how plus provides some great examples of fasting in the Bible.

I thoroughly recommend this book as it equipped me to pray. I love praying but like most of us go through dry seasons and this book stimulated my prayer life in different ways. I'm a great believer in using other people's prayers to enhance one's prayer life. Hodges in supplying the various prayer models provides the prayers he uses. I find the Holy Spirit engages and those prayers are embellished to help me to draw closer to God.

I appreciated the simplicity of the fasting section. We can over-complicate fasting and I like the fact that Hodges provides the outline of his church's 21-day prayer and fasting practice. Perfectly timed for the beginning of a new year.

I feel very fortunate receiving an early ebook copy from the publisher via NetGalley and this had no bearing on my review. I fully expect to purchase a paper version of the book as I'm likely to refer to it frequently.

Chris Hodges is the first evangelical megachurch pastor I’ve read in a long time that I mostly can agree with theologically. I picked up Hodges’ book as a liberal Mennonite theologian interested in what the author had to say about prayer. Despite his insistence on God’s gender (his God has a penis, as my great-uncle would say), and an excessive focus on sacrificial atonement, Hodges does a pastoral job of reminding Christians to pray before undertaking their daily tasks, whether giant or small.
Pray First is divided into three parts: Learning About Prayer, Prayer Models and How to use Them, and Prayer and Fasting. Hodges recognizes that prayer is both important and necessary but insufficient. That is, we should pray but also act. He also uncomfortably focuses on praying for everyone that we know to be converted to Christ, but emphasizes kindness and good deeds over condemnation and hellfire. (A guy with 60,000 people showing up to church on a Sunday knows something about marketing.) He even offers the Prayer of Jabez not as a get-rich-quick prayer scheme but an opportunity to build a base to give to others. And his idea that the Lord’s Prayer is a model template for our own situation rather than a rote and lifeless incantation is very important. Hodges’ heavy emphasis on the reality of spiritual warfare is another of our theological differences. (Jesus has already won – giving the devil too much credit and attention is just as dangerous as not giving him enough.)
I’d be happy to sit down and have a friendly theological conversation across the aisle from Hodges. I’d be happy to lead a church conversation on this book, both its pros and cons. And of course, in any case, we’d all pray first.

I have followed Chris Hodges, pastor of Highlands Church in Alabama for many years so I was so excited to be able to read this book. The title says it all but the author expounds on the command to pray with enlightening, engaging and empowering stories, verses and practices. I especially love the prayer he shares how he uses the temple, all its rooms and it’s furniture as a way to enter into God’s presence with praise, confession, cleansing, and so much more.
This quote was profound in its call and directive for all believers: “Prayer is about living in connection to God and, through that connection, living out His purpose for your life, which is why it’s important to talk to God before you act, before you decide, before you’re tempted, before you speak, before you risk.”

Solid 3.5
This book was full of great take aways to work on your prayer life. It was not a book to sit and read straight through for me. I needed to take time to digest what he said and see what parts of it I wanted to Incorporate into my days.

I watched Chris Hodges speak on the topic, “Pray First” before reading an advance copy of his book. I wish I'd thought to do a search for him speaking sooner. He's from Louisiana and said he's Cajun, which made for fun reading. I now understand his frequent use of my least favorite punctuation mark: the exclamation point. I think using that mark is akin to writing in all caps. But I get it. If you’re Cajun, you need them.
Chris told his audience, “Some messages should teach you something you don’t know, and...[others should] remind you of things you stopped doing,” like his message that day. He wanted to stir hearts to make pray a priority and to pray without ceasing, much like the persistent widow in Luke 18:1-8. The widow kept coming to petition the judge to grant her justice against her adversary. The judge didn’t fear God nor people, but he gave in because he tired of her constant pleas. God will supply quick justice to His chosen ones when they cry out to Him. Jesus taught his disciples to “always pray and never give up” (NLT) in this passage.
The book “Pray First” developed from prayer guides Chris used in his own prayer time and shared with his church family at Church of the Highlands in Birmingham, Alabama. He said believers need to make prayer the “first response and not the last resort.” It doesn’t have to be a long prayer. A sentence or two at a time can become a continuous conversation with God throughout the day. If you’ll pray first, Chris promises you will step into God’s reality and out of our worldly reality and into a heavenly reality, God’s realm, where we take our seat thanks to Jesus Christ. (Ephesians 2:6-7) Earth’s reality may say, “That’s impossible,” but God says “Is anything too difficult for Me?” (Jeremiah 32:27)
Chris studied Jesus’ prayer life and noted three takeaways. First, Jesus made time for prayer. He recommending praying first thing in the morning. The first thing we give attention to is what we worship, he said. We need to let God know He comes
first. Second, Jesus had a place to pray, a spot where He would go off alone to commune with His Father. And third, Jesus had a plan. Here, Chris discussed the Lord’s prayer, the outline Jesus gave the disciples when they asked Him to teach them how to pray as He did. The disciples would have been more familiar with Jewish prayers. They memorized and recited prayers for different reasons as part of Jewish tradition. Jesus’ prayers had an intimacy because He approached Him as His Father.
And that’s how believers should approach God, Chris said. As kids, most of knew not to just barge in and outright demand things from our parents. We would greet and check in with them before requesting things -- or test the waters if you were me.
To have a quality prayer life, Chris said to pray consistently, to find a place, and to make time to pray. Our prayer closet technically is within, he said, so we always have a private place to speak with God. We can schedule time with God on a calendar. We can do as he does and pray first thing when we wake up for the day and just continue the conversation as we go about our activities.
In Part 2, Chris described some of the prayer plans he uses to keep his communication with God fresh and focused. He had collected several guides over the course of his 40 years in ministry that he shared with people. Having a deliberate plan to use helped him focus on why he’s praying and brought order to his thoughts. He thought through or processed his most important concerns first before turning them over to God.
Having a plan can prevent people from turning God into Santa, like He’s just there to hear our requests and give us what we think we want or need from Him. We need to see prayer time as a moment to praise and worship God, to seek forgiveness and restoration, and to make intercession for the people in our lives who have made requests.
Besides using the Lord’s prayer as a guide, Chris described the steps of the Tabernacle prayer, or the Prayer of Moses. He talked about the popular prayer of Jabez based on his prayer in 1 Chronicles 4:10 for blessing, influence, God's presence and protection. He gave the prayer of the sheep where we can learn and pray the names of God as they correspond to our circumstances. He also gave a plan for prayers for the lost and prayers for spiritual warfare.
In the last section of this book, Chris talked about prayer and fasting as an essential spiritual practice. The Bible talked about prayer and fasting more than 70 times, he said. His church has prayer and fasting for 21 days in January (the first of the year) and August (the first of the new school year). They modeled their prayer and fasting from Daniel's practice of praying and fasting for 21 days. Daniel had no meat or wine from the king's table, but instead ate vegetables and grains with water. Chris also shared stories from individuals throughout the Bible who prayed and fasted, such as Moses, Paul and Barnabas, Nehemiah, the king of Nineveh, the prophet Anna, Queen Esther, and Jesus Himself.
When you fast, you give up something for a time that has become an indulgence, a distraction, a comfort, or an escape for you. (This reminded me of Lent.) You disconnect from the world and all its distractions and appeals to the flesh and connect with God and rely on Him alone. Chris made sure to say several times that if it is solid food you decide to give up you need to consult with your doctor. You can have a partial fast also and opt to give up a part of your diet, like dairy and sugar, or give up something else like time spent on social media or other forms of entertainment.
Chris said to first consider our reasons for fasting though. Some have used fasting thinking God will give them what they ask for just because they fasted. That’s not the right heart attitude though. Chris supplied 21 days of focus material for those who want to fast and pray as he described. He recommended easing into non-fasting at the end of however long we fast to avoid a worsened spiritual state. You don't want to revert to old behaviors, practices, and ways of thinking that held you captive before your time of fasting, so he said we need to stay alert and keep our spirit closely aligned with God.
I saw that Chris has a companion to go with this book, a six-session study guide with streaming video. I look forward to viewing that as well. I plan to go back and make my own prayer guides based on the material in this book. Chris has written prayers within that I plan to use as prayer starters. Thank you Netgalley and Thomas Nelson Books for this opportunity to read and review this book on prayer.

Just what I needed right now. Exactly what our world needs right now. Bravo!
Thanks to author, publisher and Netgalley for the chance to read this book. While I got the book for free, it had no bearing on the rating I gave it.

It would be easy to dismiss the book by its title if you think "I know THAT!" However, via reading I have been easily persuaded to pray more at intermittent intervals and in more circumstances. If only to make the case for prayer being defined in a way that you can feel freer to use it anywhere, five stars. As a bonus, other great prayers are analysed.