Cover Image: The Prayer of the Lord

The Prayer of the Lord

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Member Reviews

Bittersweet reading this book, I miss R. C. Has always he presents brilliant theology wrapped with a thick devotional and pastoral presentation. Few authors in church history managed to balance this out with such brilliance Doctrine and Devotion-Theology and Doxology

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This book is so great because it is fairly brief, but utterly thorough. How do we pray? What are the rules? Why do we pray? All these things so many of us ask ourselves are discussed in this book. Sproul has a unique gift to make the complicated seem so much less so! I may not always 100% agree with everything he says, but the percentage there is very high, nonetheless, and his preaching and writings are always understandable. The world lost a great man of God when he passed away, but fortunately we still have his writings and sermons here!

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I have been struggling in my prayer life for a while now and this book definitely helped me recenter my focus on what prayer is and how to pray. I'm thankful for this book.

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As you would expect from R.C Sproul, this is an excellent book on the Lords prayer. I highly recommend it.
I received this book free from the publisher for the purpose of an honest review.

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Mr. Sproul's book, "The Prayer of the Lord", is about what we commonly call "The Lord's Prayer" and repeated by Christians throughout the world on a regular basis.

I've read several books on this subject, as well as done a couple of studies on this subject. It's interesting to see the different perspectives.

This prayer was given as an example of how we ought to pray (Matt 6:9), not as a "magic formula" to repeat verbatim. Mr. Sproul goes through the prayer, breaking it down by each verse, helping us to understand the concepts behind it so we can formulate our own prayers.

Mr. Sproul's teaching is solidly fundamental. There are some true gems in this book that I have flagged to remember in the future.

I received a copy of this book from the publisher through NetGalley so I could share my honest review.

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The Prayer of the Lord is another astute and insightful book by the late R.C. Sproul on what is commonly called "The Lord's Prayer" as found in the Gospels of Matthew and Luke. R.C. has the heart of a pastor and the mind of a brilliant theologian and exegete to draw out all of the nuances of Jesus's model prayer, and how Christians can use the words and forms provided by Christ to deepen both their communion with God, as well as their understanding of Him and His relations with His sons and daughters. Another winner from R.C. Sproul!

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Everything by R C Sproul is worth a read and a re-read including this one. It’s where you should start when studying or teaching about the Lord’s Prayer

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I thought this book did a very good job of walking through the Lord's Prayer, looking at what each part means and how we can apply it to our own prayer lives. Sometimes I find myself getting in a rut in my prayers so that I'm just going through the motions. This book helped remind me of the importance of praying and praying rightly. I feel my prayers are more focused and more effective.

I didn't necessarily agree with everything in the book (it's not Scripture after all), but the main points were exactly what I needed to read. What a great reminder of the model set for us by Christ. And one of the best reminders from the book is that prayer does change a lot of things, but the most important thing it changes is us.

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Jesus did not give the Lord's Prayer with the intention that it would be repeated mindlessly. When we pray the Lord's Prayer, we need to pray it thoughtfully, giving attention in our minds to its content. It is not a mantra to be repeated without the engagement of the mind or heart. It is an example of godly prayer. The benefit of praying a prayer like the Lord's Prayer over and over again, it becomes part of the fabric of our thinking. It begins to become part of our souls, so that we fall back on it when we're at a loss as to how we ought to pray. We can always pray the Lord's Prayer.

This is the 2nd time I have read this book and it has given me more insight not only to prayer but to the gospel. The Lord's Prayer points us to our greater need. It is the gospel. I never saw it that way before but as I was reading, every sentence is the gospel. It displays who God is, his purpose and his love for us. It invites us to be satisfied in his Glory and not of this world. It brings us out of anxiety to peace that is not explainable but is obtainable.

Sproul goes thru each line of the Lord's prayer and its benefit for us. Prayer is not God's benefit but for us to focus and know him. The Lord's Prayer when understood correctly, gives us a hold on God's sovereignty and our free will. I liked Sproul quote here Yes, we have free will, but our free will is always and everywhere limited by God's sovereignty. When there's a conflict between my will and God's will, mine has to give way. Not my will, but His will, is sovereign.

Sproul's teaching is always concise and with scripture supporting scripture. This is a resource that all Christians should have.

A Special Thank You to Reformation Trust Publishing and Netgalley for the ARC and the opportunity to post an honest review.

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Good book for encouragement and praying.
I read this book everyday along with my devotionals.
I am actually going to make a large purchase of these and pass them out at our church.
FIVE stars for sure!

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Perfectly timed for publication in UK yesterday this is an ideal book to be read before, during, or following the global prayer wave Thy Kingdom Come.

With well written explainations The Lord's Prayer is broken down. The book answers some questions, and prompts others to be asked.

A book that challenges, inspires, and I am sure will be a book I re-read to aid me further in my personal prayers, and those with others.

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First sentence: A FEW YEARS AGO, when I happened to be in San Diego for a conference, I unexpectedly ran into an old friend of mine, George Miladin. George is a pianist and a master teacher—he used to host a televised teaching program for the piano called the “See and Hear Piano Series.”

R.C. Sproul provides commentary on the Lord's Prayer in his book The Prayer of the Lord. He walks with his readers through each phrase of the prayer. But he also provides context and commentary on the whole passage from which 'the Lord's Prayer' is taken. Context, after all, is important.

For example, consider the fact that before he gives disciples a model prayer, he tells them how NOT to pray.

Sproul writes, "The first type of prayer Jesus condemned is hypocritical prayer... Hypocrisy has a devastating impact on the life of the church and on the representation of Christianity to a dying world. And so our Lord warns us here not to parade our piety before the world... We need to be careful here, because we Christians are enjoined to bear witness to our faith, which means making the invisible visible. But sometimes we think that one of the primary ways of bearing witness to people is by demonstrating our Christian spirituality with public prayer... That’s dangerous, because the motivation for prayer is not to display our spirituality before the watching world. Prayer is to be intensely private."

He continues, "The second kind of prayer Jesus condemned is pagan prayer. He said: “And when you pray, do not use vain repetitions as the heathen do. For they think that they will be heard for their many words.” Worship services often include the recitation of the Lord’s Prayer. The use of the Lord’s Prayer has a rich history in the church, and whenever we pray it or hear it, we are reminded of those priorities that Jesus sets before us as objects for prayer. Don’t get me wrong—I’m not opposed to the recitation of the Lord’s Prayer. However, there is a danger that this use of the prayer may be nothing more than a recitation. The praying of the Lord’s Prayer can become as mindless and as vain a repetition as the magical incantations and mantras that pagans use. Jesus did not give the Lord’s Prayer with the intention that it would be repeated mindlessly. When we pray the Lord’s Prayer, we need to pray it thoughtfully, giving attention in our minds to its content. It is not a mantra to be repeated without the engagement of the mind or heart. It is an example of godly prayer."

But the book is more than just a commentary on one prayer from the Bible. It is also a primer, of sorts, on the subject of PRAYER. Most of the book focuses on HOW to pray.

"The first thing you are to remember in prayer is who it is you’re talking to, because nothing will condition your prayer life more deeply than remembering that you’re in conversation with God, the sovereign Creator and Ruler of the universe. Second, you are to remember who you are. You are not God. You are a creature. So prayer is not a conversation between peers; it is not a fireside chat among equals. This is the creature speaking to his sovereign Creator."

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