We Christians have the Holy Spirit in us and He gives us the desire to talk to God. Why is it so hard? Why does it seem like we're saying the same things over and over?

The problem is not with us, Whitney says, but with our method. The answer is to pray through a passage of Scripture, particularly a psalm. While we should pray all of Scripture, the psalms are a good place to start.

To pray the Bible, you simply go through the passage line by line, talking to God about whatever comes to mind as you read the text. If nothing strikes us in the verse or we don't understand it, we just go on to the next verse. Just turn every thought Godward as we read, he suggests.

He explains why the psalms should be used and encourages a systematic approach. He provides a chart at the back of the book for that purpose. He also walks us through praying other Scripture, such as an epistle. He also explains how to pray through a narrative passage.

He includes a section where he asks us to actually pray through a psalm. He walks us through some of the most common responses to the exercise. He also includes tips for teaching this method to others and examples of heroes of the faith who prayed this way. An Appendix adds how this way of praying can be done in a group.

This book is the most practical I've seen yet on praying through a Bible passage. Whitney gives many illustrations so we get a good idea of how it is done. It gives us a platform so we are not praying the same things over and over.

This is a short book but the method is pretty simple. If you find your prayer life is a struggle, I recommend this method to breathe fresh life into your conversation with God.

I received a complimentary egalley of this book from the publisher for the purpose of an independent and honest review.

I was a bit surprised about the size of this book-- it's small, so I am glad I didn't pay full price on it. That said, this book is extremely well written, and provided a new (to me) approach to make prayer life a dynamic one. I enjoyed that Whitney requires you to try out the method of praying the Bible. He's right, if you don't stop and actually try it out, you'll never incorporate it into your life!

Before I read Whitney's book I had vaguely heard of praying the Bible, but it sounded complicated and time consuming. Not so! This method has revitalized how I approach the throne of grace.

Put away your daily devotionals. All you need is your Bible and this method. You will connect with God more fully and you will learn your Bible more completely. It is a short, simple book that will breathe life into a stale prayer life. I read it in perhaps 30 minutes and did one exercise and saw the difference right away in being focused and connected. There is a 30 day reading plan to get started and as you master it, you will want to include other Bible passages.

Do you have trouble praying? Does your mind wander? Do you say the same prayers in the same way over and over to the point where you have become bored with prayer? Do you think this means something is wrong with you or that you must not be a good-enough Christian?

You are not alone, and no boredom in prayer isnt from a lack of faith or lack of love toward God. It is, as Don Whitney says, a problem with method.

In this book, Whitney explains how to pray the Bible, why the best book to pray through is the Psalms, and guides you through with an exercise.

Ive heard the saying pray the Bible before. I had an idea what it meant (I was sort of right a little bit), but thought it would be too involved. I never really had it explained to me. This book explains it in such a simple way that I cant believe we all dont just instinctively know to do this. This is definitely one of those books that changed my way of thinking, and will hopefully have a profound effect on my prayer life.

Praying has always been a stumbling block for me. I always seemed to use the same words over and over. I've often wished I could pray as eloquently as others and usually decline when called upon to pray aloud. The author addresses the fact that many people's prayer life is boring due to praying the same ol', same ol'! That resonated with me. The author recommends praying the Psalms and teaches how to do so, using God's own words to praise Him. This has opened my eyes like nothing else has before. I now look forward to putting this fresh new (for me) method to use. How this has changed my attitude and my thoughts about prayer life! Amazing!