Tim's Reviews > A Diary of Private Prayer

This is one of those books that I've known about for a long time (Richard Foster lists it as one of his favorite devotional books) but never picked up (until I found it on the 50% off rack at the Fuller bookstore). What a rich book - it's very simple, with a month's worth of one-page prayers for morning and evening. What first struck me as I read is this is a man who has spent a lifetime in the presence of God - talking with him, wrestling with him, loving and being loved by him. It has great depth, and the author has a real gift as a wordsmith.

It's only in recent years that I've come to appreciate the value of praying other people's prayers. I find (as CS Lewis once pointed out) that most of my own praying is very personal but also very narrow. I pray about what I think about, oblivious to things that maybe should be on my mind but aren't. Praying the prayers of others broadens my prayer life, which eventually makes it that much more personal as well. This book is a real blessing, and I highly recommend it.