The Lord's Prayer

I've read a lot of books in 2010.  And if I were to rank them in order of their impact, R.T. Kendall's The Lord's Prayer:  Insight and Inspiration to Draw You Closer to Him would rank second only to David Platt's Radical.  

A copy of The Lord's Prayer by R.T. Kendall was sent to me free for the purpose of review.  The book was published by Chosen which is a division of Baker Publishing Group.

Special recommendations were written for this book by Mark Rutland, O.S. Hawkins, and Terry Virgo and the foreward by Ed Stetzer.  I must share some of Mr. Stetzer's thoughts because they set the tone for the importance of the book:

"We live in a world in which communication feels at times, like a pandemic.  Words, ideas and even emotions move with unstoppable velocity.  The human race has honed the science and art of transporting content to one another.  But we are, I fear, at the mercy of the medium and are losing our own messages...Mobile phones, email, blogging on the Internet and a myriad of instant messaging options have transformed our communication methods...Correspondence is occurring more frequently and at a faster pace, but possibly with an atrophying impact.  We dance along a tightrope of increased communication lacking any depth or significance.  With such self-imposed limitations placed on our communications to one another, there must be a spiritual consequence.  It cannot be denied that in a time when tools for communication are growing more powerful, our ability to relate is weakening.  In speaking more rapidly, we are listening less intently."

Most of us know the Lord's Prayer and can recite it without a second thought.  But have you ever truly studied or meditated on the words you are saying?  Have they taken root in your heart and been allowed to transform the way you pray and relate to God in your conversations with Him?

That's exactly what you will have the opportunity to do in Kendall's book.  In The Lord's Prayer , Mr. Kendall takes this model prayer of Jesus phrase by phrase and teaches the reader how to approach the heart of God in prayer.  Kendall doesn't teach another "formula" for prayer, but uncovers the transforming truths contained in each line of the prayer. 

When reading the book, I got the sense I was reading not Mr. Kendall's study of the Lord's Prayer, but his experience of the Lord's Prayer.  Listen to him from chapter 6 "Wanting What God Wants":

"I suppose the secret will of God is more interesting, more compelling, more exciting and sometimes more sensational than the revealed will.  Getting an undoubted word of knowledge is easier than hours and hours of wrestling with God in reading the Bible and praying.  But the latter should be our immediate and fundamental search; the secret will of God will be clear to you when you need to know it.  Seek to know the secret will of God as a primary focus, and it will elude you; aspire to know the revealed will of God and you will gain the general knowledge of His will - and receive a 'rhema' word when you aren't expecting it."

This book is one I very much recommend.  It is one I will be going back to time and time again I am sure.  This resource would be excellent for study with a small group or as a discipleship tool with a new believer wanting to know learn how to pray.

You can purchase The Lord's Prayer at Amazon.














Making room for Him,
Jennifer