Praying Like Jesus: The Lord's Prayer in a Culture of Prosperity

by James Mulholland

Book Overview

Jabez got it wrong.

Praying is a central practice of spiritual life. Through prayer we turn our hearts and minds from our limited perspectives and concerns and begin to discern the divine will for the world. James Mulholland believes the self-correcting nature of prayer is being distorted by a culture of prosperity, which has refashioned prayer in its own image, making books such as The Prayer of Jabez huge bestsellers.

Prayer today bears little...

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0060011564
• ISBN13: 9780060011567
• Release Date: September 2001
• Publisher: HarperOne
• Length: 144 Pages
• Weight: 0.60 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.7" x 5.5" x 7.4"

Customer Reviews

Absolutely a great book!

This is a great book in it's own right, thoughtful, written in an easy manner, but quite deep. Anyone thinking that the prayer of jabez is a good example of 2000 years of Christian thought and practice might want to reconsider the example of Jesus himself.

A book more people need to read and take to heart

This book sets on its ear the common misinterpretation of "The Prayer of Jabez" and other parts of the Bible as commanding personal materialism and selfishness. It examines the Lord's Prayer line by line, showing how Christians can live more as Jesus would live. It's a timely antidote to the church-sanctioned culture of greed followed by so many American Christians. Parts of it literally made my jaw drop. Thank you, Rev. Mulholland, for a thought-provoking and inspiring book. I'll be buying and distributing several copies.

Prayer in perfect form

Recently I wrote a review on the book `The Prayer of Jabez.' I outlined in that review some of the things I appreciated about that book, but also recounted the many things that made me uneasy with both the development and the intention most seem to pick up from the practice of the prayer. There are few things in our lives that are as personal and touch us as deeply as prayer, particularly our own prayer life. We each feel we are an expert at praying in our own ways, and to a large extent, each of us is. For this deep part of our lives to be co-opted by a feeling of selfish intention for personal gain is tragic. This is why I considered `The Prayer of Jabez' problematic - the author's intent might not be selfishness, but the message being heard is precisely that. In searching for an alternative to hold up as a model more in keeping with my own prayer temperament, Charles Allen, a theology professor at my seminary, directed me to James Mulholland's `Praying Like Jesus: The Lord's Prayer in a Culture of Prosperity.' The book begins where the disciples of Jesus began -- Thomas asks Jesus to teach them how to pray. In an interesting, fictional conversation, the disciples recount their experience of praying another prayer that seems to work better for them (of course, this is the prayer of Jabez). Many followers of Jesus seem to slink away after hearing Jesus tell people that they should stop asking for an increase in territory, but rather ask God to provide for their needs; that they should stop asking for a blessing in earthly terms, but rather be willing to follow the will of God even to death, to 'take up their crosses and follow'. This teaching is too hard to follow! `This is not what happened two thousand years ago. Unfortunately, it is happening today in thousands of churches and with millions of Christians. ... Thousands of Christians are repeating an obscure prayer first uttered by a man named Jabez over three thousand years ago. Many have become convinced his words are the formula for prosperity.' As Mulholland points out correctly, Wilkinson did not intend his prayer to become a manifesto for righteous greed. He also points out that neither Jabez nor the Bible hold up the prayer of Jabez as a model for anyone but Jabez to follow. `This honour is reserved for another short prayer located in the gospels of Matthew and Luke. It is the prayer Jesus taught his disciples to pray. We call this prayer The Lord's Prayer, though I prefer to call it the Prayer of Jesus.' Mulholland does not promise riches or special healing or power; he does not give the magic formula for getting what you want. What he does is reiterate the intentions of Jesus with the Prayer of Jesus -- an opportunity to reconnect with God and with each other through the words that, as the disciple Peter said, 'contain eternal life'. The first chapter is entitled When You Pray. This, of course, assumes that you pray. Not if, but when. Mulholland talks about the prayer of self-righteou

A must read

I found this book to be very insightful and thought provoking. As someone who always felt like I was a good Christian it also cut a bit, which I think is good. It really makes you take a hard look at how you are living your life and are you living it in a way that would make our Father proud.

Getting up close and personal in your prayer life

Jim Mulholland seems to have his head on straight when it comes to talking with the Lord. Unlike other prayer books that are being offered he makes us look at the real reason we should pray in the first place. Most of us wait until we are in some predicament before falling to our knees which in itself is a selfish reason, but Jim has pointed out what it means to have a real relationship with God, not just a convenient one.His real-life experiences show that he is not a pulpit-banger but a goeth-forth-and-doeth type of minister that the everyday person can relate too. Too many of our "intellectual" minister/writers are merely sending forth the flock while they stay behind and shepard, but Jim seems to know the feel of blisters on his hands and sweat on his brow by sharing the workload with those less fortunate.His attitude of prayer makes us all take stock of ourselves when he points out the necessity of gratitude, compassion and forgiveness in our own lives before we can expect God to bestow the same on us.I was particularly touched by his pointing out that Jesus prayed to "Our Father" and not just to his father. This should remind us all that no one sect or religion has a monopoly on God. He is the God of all, for all and in all. I hope Jim Mulholland continues to write books like this to teach and inspire us all.