Prayer
How Praying Together Shapes the Church
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Pub Date Aug 31 2018 | Archive Date Aug 05 2018
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Description
Examining what Jesus taught about prayer and how the first Christians approached prayer in the early church, this book offers practical advice for those eager to prioritize prayer in their churches. Part of the 9Marks: Building Healthy Churches series.
A Note From the Publisher
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Advance Praise
“I don’t know if I’ve ever read a book on prayer that left me feeling the entire range of human emotion—until reading John Onwuchekwa’s Prayer. Here is a human book—beautiful, poignant, funny, gritty, and pastoral. This book is better than a correction to our often languid prayer lives. There’s no guilt-based manipulation. Onwuchekwa writes like a fellow traveler, and as a fellow traveler knows what travelers need most: refreshment. Here’s a thirst-quenching encouragement to join together in seeking our great God. I pray every church reads Prayer together; it will change our congregations. Here’s a warm invitation to the entire church, beckoning the people of God to the wonders of prayer.”
—Thabiti Anyabwile, Pastor, Anacostia River Church, Washington, DC; author, What Is a Healthy Church Member?
“Prayer is an excellent book by my dear friend John Onwuchekwa. It is biblically and theologically rich. It is also real and honest. Want to get a corporate prayer meeting started in your church? This book is a very good start.”
—Daniel L. Akin, President, Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary
“Everyone remembers that auntie or uncle who hushed our fears with the words, ‘Baby, we just gon’ pray on that.’ John Onwuchekwa is that voice for today, calling the church back to one of the simplest and most powerful tools in her arsenal—the habit of communal prayer. He doesn’t merely want to reawaken our atrophied prayer muscles; he invites us into the much harder work of reorienting our priorities so that they’re more in line with God’s. Onwuchekwa’s call to return to such ‘first things’ is an excellent start to seeing Christian communities moving in the same kingdom direction.”
—K. A. Ellis, Cannada Fellow for World Christianity, Reformed Theological Seminary
“There’s likely something missing in your church, something you haven’t thought much of and likely haven’t even noticed. It’s prayer. Onwuchekwa shares compelling, insightful, and biblical reasons why corporate prayer should be a priority for the church. What a privilege it is to pray together as a family—this is the vision Onwuchekwa casts for us. This book has the potential to transform not only individuals, but also relationships and the culture in our churches. I highly recommend it.”
—Trillia Newbell, author, God’s Very Good Idea; Enjoy; and Fear and Faith
“The early church moved forward in power because they were a praying church (Acts 4:31). If we today are so proficient at ministry mechanics that we can succeed without power from on high, we have failed. But if our churches today will heed this compelling call to prayer by John Onwuchekwa, we too will prevail against all earthly powers, for God’s glory!”
—Ray Ortlund, Lead Pastor, Immanuel Church, Nashville, Tennessee
“This is a thought-provoking book about the life of prayer in the local church. Onwuchekwa builds a theological framework and then gives tangible and practical solutions for fleshing it out. I’ve had the privilege of working with John over the last decade, and I’ve seen no one better able to take lofty concepts and present them in a way that is palatable for the body of Christ. This book is an outworking of his gift. He takes biblical principles and communicates them in an effective way. His work on this subject is a gift to the church.”
—Dhati Lewis, Lead Pastor, Blueprint Church, Atlanta, Georgia; Executive Director of Community Restoration, North American Mission Board; author, Among Wolves: Disciple-Making in the City
“What more could be needed by our churches than a revival of gospel-centered spirituality? And what more could we do to experience this revival than to recommit to nourishing communion with our Father through prayer? This is why I’m thankful for this exceptional book by John Onwuchekwa. It is an accessible, practical, and relatable guide to the depths of the enormous, glorious privilege of speaking to the God of the universe.”
—Jared C. Wilson, Director of Content Strategy, Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary; Director, Pastoral Training Center, Liberty Baptist Church, Kansas City, Missouri; author, Supernatural Power for Everyday People
“I have a lot to say about this little book, because it’s so good. In fact, I think this is one of the best books in this series. Brief and well written, this book by pastor John Onwuchekwa looks especially at two sections of the Gospels—the Lord’s Prayer, and Jesus’s prayer in the garden of Gethsemane. Onwuchekwa shares significant observations that seem intuitive, but are also surprising. It is well illustrated, biblically faithful, and theologically accurate. This book is useful to think not only about when we should pray, but also about how we should pray, and even what we should pray about. It reintroduces us to the ignored topic of praying together at church. Hope-giving and inspiring, specific and practical, the whole book is sweetened by touches of humor. You and others could benefit from investing your time in reading this small book on such a grand topic.”
—Mark Dever, Senior Pastor, Capitol Hill Baptist Church, Washington, DC; President, 9Marks
Available Editions
| EDITION | Other Format |
| ISBN | 9781433559471 |
| PRICE | $14.99 (USD) |
Featured Reviews
Camron H, Reviewer
With so many books on prayer available, it's hard to know where to start or which one to read. If you've read one, have you read them all? Why should I read another book on prayer? Those thoughts are the reason that Prayer by John Onwuchekwa sets itself apart. John doesn't just focus on personal prayer, but also shows the "why" and the "how" of corporate, congregational prayer. John says in his own words, "that's the goal of this book: learning how to pray better and more as churches. Just as our private prayer lives can be improved by God's grace, so too can our corporate prayer lives."
John takes the beginning of the book to define prayer and look at biblical examples. This is extremely helpful because many people have many definitions for prayer. When we look at how people prayed in the Bible, especially Jesus, we learn a right model for our prayers.
After defining prayer and even looking briefly at what personal prayer looks like for the believer, John moves on to corporate church prayer. He first shows the importance of being a praying people when we are gathered as the body and then he talks about two things related to corporate prayer that I found to be the most helpful parts of the book: the Sunday morning service and the prayer meeting.
On Sunday mornings, our corporate prayers teach our people to pray. John highlights how we can use the ACTS model to direct our prayers. He also helpfully points out that it is ok to prepare our prayers before we pray them. We prepare for music and sermons beforehand, why not also be intentional with our prayers? This is a suggestion that had a great impact on me.
He then talks about the "need for" and the "how to" of prayer meetings. I think this is some of the most useful information in the book. We live in a day where prayer meetings are becoming a thing of the past, but John convinced me that corporate prayer is necessary for the church. I would not have been one to jump on this train before hearing his arguments. The other extremely useful part is he gives advice on how to do this for it to be most beneficial. The reader is gifted with the wisdom John has gained from his own trial and error in leading prayer meetings and his tips are highly valuable.
Pastor, elder, deacon, or congregation member would benefit from reading John Onwuchekwa's short book on prayer. It's very accessible in the way he writes and the commitment to read it is not a large one as it is a short, but useful book. Prayer is filled with great quotes, but I will leave you with a few of my favorites:
"Where prayer is present, it's saying something— it's speaking, shouting. It teaches the church that we really need the Lord. Where prayer is absent, it reinforces the assumption that we're okay without him."
"Praying with plural pronouns as Jesus taught is one of the best ways to love our neighbors because, even when they're out of sight, they should never be out of mind."
"Gethsemane means 'the olive press.' Pressed olives produced the oil that was used for centuries to anoint kings and priests. Now Jesus stepped into a time of intense pressure for his anointing."
"Prayer is mentioned no less than twenty one times in Acts. Furthermore, these prayers are inherently corporate. Whenever prayer is mentioned, it overwhelmingly involves others."
You can get your copy of Prayer by John Onwuchekwa here. It's available on August 31, 2018.
Daniel L, Reviewer
John Onwuchekwa's book on prayer is a very helpful resource meant to get churches, pastors and members thinking about the subject of corporate prayer and how to apply it effectively. While many books have been written about prayer, most of them focus on the individual aspects of prayer. While we certainly should pray personally, prayer in the Bible is seen countless times as a corporate activity. Onwuchekwa encourages churches to prioritize prayer and to think about how it shapes our worship and our community. Some helpful advice includes what to focus on in making requests (God's kingdom purposes), how and why to have regular church prayer meetings, and using the ACTS acronym (Adoration, Confession, Thanksgiving, and Supplication) in corporate prayer. I will certainly reread this book, and I can recommend it to any Christian who wishes to see his or her church shaped by corporate prayer. I received a digital copy of this book for free from the publisher and was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I express in this review are entirely my own.
Jonathan P, Reviewer
As a pastor, I am always looking for resources to help encourage my church to pray. What I appreciated about this book was that the focus was on corporate prayer. So many books on the topic focus on personal prayer, but this made the case for prayer as a church. I highly recommend it.
Linda J, Reviewer
This is a good book to encourage and challenge churches in the importance of prayer.
I received this book free from the publisher for the purpose of an honest review.
Becky L, Reviewer
First sentence from the introduction: If you were to walk into most churches next Sunday, what would you find? You would hear music and singing. It might be loud or sparse, the songs new or old. But you know what you probably wouldn’t see a lot of? Or participate in? Prayer.
First sentence from chapter one: Well, here you are reading another book on prayer. Maybe the last one didn’t make you feel guilty enough, and you’re a glutton for punishment. What good is a book on prayer without an initial quote that surfaces your shortcomings as a pray-er? Without further ado, here it goes: “To be a Christian without prayer is no more possible than to be alive without breathing!”
When was the last time you read a book on corporate prayer? I think this was my first. The Bible speaks many, many times of the importance of praying together as the people of God.
Onwuchkwa isn't saying that most churches are prayerless, lacking in prayers altogether. He is saying that churches could be--should be--doing a better job at praying together in church services and prayer meetings. We should, he writes, be praying bigger and better prayers that reflect how BIG our God is. Our tiny prayers reflect our puny God.
"Do you see the danger in too little prayer? Where prayer is present, it’s saying something—it’s speaking, shouting. It teaches the church that we really need the Lord. Where prayer is absent, it reinforces the assumption that we’re okay without him. Infrequent prayer teaches a church that God is needed only in special situations—under certain circumstances but not all."
What is prayer? What does biblical prayer look like? What should prayer in our churches look like? How do churches learn to pray better together?
This book does focus mainly on corporate prayer, on prayer in our churches and for our churches. But individuals can benefit from reading it as well. The book is practical and thought-provoking.
David H, Reviewer
This newest addition to the 9 Marks series on the church continues the in the same vein its predecessors established: it is unapologetically biblical while being relevant. Onwuchekwa is committed to seeing corporate prayer in the local church take on a needed dose of intentionality, and this book provides a way forward for those who share his vision.
