In the past few years, I’ve noticed a surge in books on the topic of prayer coming from publishers across the evangelical spectrum. I think there are at least three reasons for this:
- Prayer has always been, and will always be, a vital part of Christian devotion.
- It’s much easier to read about prayer than it is to actually pray.
- In our post-Christian culture, a vibrant prayer life becomes one of the most compelling apologetics for the gospel.
The books I’ve read recently on the Lord’s Prayer are usually simple expositions, a chapter devoted to each clause. Frankly, many of them feel redundant and even boring. Thankfully, Adriel Sanchez’s “Praying with Jesus: Getting to the Heart of the Lord’s Prayer” (New Growth Press, 2024) is a refreshing exception; in fact, it’s one of the best resources on prayer I’ve encountered in some time. Sanchez is the pastor of North Park Presbyterian Church in San Diego and host of “Core Christianity Radio,” a daily live Bible Q&A radio broadcast.
In his foreword, Michael Horton writes, “Drawing on rich biblical truths and meditations from counselors across the ages, ‘Praying with Jesus’ is less a book on prayer than a book of prayer.” Sanchez’s work lives up to this lofty commendation. From the first page to the last, he cites numerous theologians, contemplatives, and faithful pray-ers through church history: Cyprian alongside Calvin, Augustine with Herman Witsius, Maximus the Confessor and Eugene Peterson.
Interested readers will find that the bibliographies at the end of each chapter prove a wellspring for additional discovery. At the same time, Sanchez always returns to Scripture as his main source and foundation, and his analysis and guidance are richly biblical and faithfully Reformed throughout.
“Praying with Jesus” is densely sourced and theologically steeped while remaining accessible to a wide audience. I would give this book to any layperson in my church. Sanchez masterfully weaves in experiences from his own life and witty illustrations that keep the reader engaged. I’ve heard innumerable illustrations of the access we have to our heavenly Father in prayer, but the son of a famous Mexican ringmaster leveraging his status to impress his wife with free tickets and unlimited popcorn at the circus is my new favorite (42).
Early on, Sanchez recounts how, in a moment of marijuana-induced anxiety, he resorted to the Lord’s Prayer for relief, and then connects this to the “heart disease” of hypocrisy that Jesus warns against in Matthew 6:5-6. “I was trying to use prayer for something it was never intended to be – a mask to cover deviant behavior. Tragically, some people never rise beyond abusing prayer in this way” (11).
Before analyzing the Lord’s Prayer itself, Sanchez examines the Bible on other prayer-related items like body posture and scheduled times of prayer. Reformed authors often hesitate to offer guidance on how we might engage our physical bodies in prayer, or how we might schedule prayer offices throughout our days. Sanchez makes compelling biblical arguments on both of these fronts. “Recognizing that your body [and schedule are] meant to be brought into alignment with the heart of prayer, consider what changes might be helpful in fostering an improved prayer life” (27-28).
When Sanchez does dive into the Lord’s Prayer proper, each chapter offers an accessible, concise, but impressively deep summary of what the clause entails and invites us to ask for. His explanation of God’s twofold reign as it pertains to “Thy kingdom come” is clarifying and Christ-exalting, as is his three-fold framework for how that petition is answered: “The kingdom’s advancement within us,” “around us,” and “ahead of us” (67-68).
With “Give us this day our daily bread,” Sanchez reminds us that God’s sovereign provision of our physical needs is inextricably connected to our spiritual hunger: “The provision of physical bread is not an end in and of itself; rather it is meant to raise our minds up to Jesus, the true Bread from heaven who nourishes us with everlasting life” (96). Similarly, his careful parsing of the nature of temptation – with the aid of Witsius, John Owen, C.S. Lewis, Augustine, Luther, and more – and subsequent strategies for prayerful vigilance are both practical and encouraging.
Horton’s promise that Sanchez has penned a book of prayer as much as or more than a book about prayer proved to be true. The best thing I can tell you about “Praying with Jesus” is that as I read, I was often inspired to put down the book and pray. Both the explicit content and the felt pathos of Sanchez’s writing tend toward actually praying, not just thinking about prayer.
As Sanchez writes in conclusion, “True prayer is worship … the song of your heart to God … God help you to sing to the Father, in the Son, and by the grace of the Holy Spirit” (129). I expect many readers will find themselves brought to their knees in worship thanks to this biblical and pastoral resource on prayer.
Trip Smith serves as assistant pastor at Hope Community Church (PCA) in Charlotte, North Carolina.