About the book:
Often we view prayer as an activity reserved for a certain time, in a certain place, offered in a specific way. But Scripture encourages us to pray continually. This exhortation is an opportunity for prayer to permeate every aspect of our lives--when we're alone or in a crowd, when it's quiet and when it's chaotic, when we feel like it and when we don't.
Praying with Eyes Wide Open shows us how to make continuous prayer a natural part of our lives rather than something on our daily spiritual checklist. It helps us encounter God in new ways as we learn to
- open our eyes to see his presence and the world around us
- open our ears to hear his voice
- open our hearts to experience freedom and power as we pray
- and open our lives as we pray for and with others
Do you want a richer, more transformative prayer life? This fresh take on conversing with your Creator is just what you need.
My review:
This was an interesting book that opened my eyes to new ways of talking to God and the positive effects this will have. She talked about praying with your eyes open, but also many more topics related to prayer. I never thought much about praying with my eyes open before, except to feel guilty if I started looking around during prayer time at church. I did pray sometimes as I drove or during other times where it was better or safer to have my eyes open, but I never really thought about the benefits. The author points out that praying continually, sometimes with eyes open, allows us to develop a deeper relationship with God because we can spend more time with Him. It's also incredibly important to view God as He truly is, someone who's incredibly loving, forgiving and patient with us. If we see Him that way, we'll want to spend time with Him. If we view Him as an angry or aloof God, we either won't want to pray or we'll pray out of duty.
She described different ways God speaks, such as through the Bible, other people, circumstances, etc. If you want to hear from God, she suggested some steps to take, such as removing distractions and asking God to speak. She described some hindrances to hearing His voice, such as being too busy or never learning to recognize God's voice. She also talked about different kinds of prayers. I really liked a story she heard from Brennan Manning about a priest visiting his uncle in Ireland who looked into the morning light for 20 minutes, then began to skip along the shore of the lake with a big grin on his face. When his nephew asked him why he looked so happy, he said that his "Abba is very fond of me." Sherry said for years she missed the fact that God liked her and was fond of her, even though she knew He loved her. I think that's something I didn't really get for a long time either, until I read the Shack and then was reminded here. This book had a lot of great information and I highly recommend it for anyone interested in prayer.
I received this book free from Baker Books in exchange for a honest review.
The Authors
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Sherry Harney
Sherry Harney is an author and a speaker who serves as the leadership development director at Shoreline Community Church in Monterey, California. She is also the cofounder of Organic Outreach International. For over two decades Sherry has spoken for local,...
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Kevin G. Harney
Kevin G. Harney (MDiv, Fuller Seminary; DMin, Western Theological Seminary) led Corinth Reformed Church in Byron Center, Michigan, through a U-Turn experience from 1993-2006. He is currently senior pastor of Shoreline Community Church in Monterey, California. Harney...
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