Pastor-teacher John MacArthur of Grace Community Church in Sun Valley, CA, is the president of The Master’s College & Seminary. Well known for his radio program “Grace to You,” which reaches millions worldwide, MacArthur is also the author of many bestselling books, including SLAVE, TWELVE ORDINARY MEN and THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO JESUS. His newest work, A YEAR OF PRAYER, communicates the passion he has for significant prayer that stems from the hearts and minds of Christ followers. He rightly asserts that Christians need to give more thought to the content of their prayers, as well as to their hearts and tongues for prayer. This book is a compilation of prayers that MacArthur has offered to his congregation over the years at Grace Community.

"By taking the time to prepare and then pray, MacArthur’s truest desire may come true: today’s Christian can indeed learn to pray in a way that both honors God and brings about life change in the pray-er."

A YEAR OF PRAYER opens quite appropriately with “A Personal Word” penned by his four adult children, who share how they observed their dad’s prayer life day in and day out in their home as they grew up. They reveal how their dad and mom made family time, prayer time and worship time a high priority. They also concede that their dad was reluctant to pen this book of prayers because he views a person’s prayers as sacred and their personal dialogue with God should be held with respect. However, the children’s persistence, offered with respectful requests, won out, and MacArthur agreed to allow his prayers to be put into black and white.

Following the insider’s story behind the book, MacArthur then shares the principles of prayer and the sometimes-wrong ways that Christians have used prayer to attempt to get what they want from a holy God. He has observed that many in the evangelical community “seem more easily tempted by superficiality, self-indulgence, and prayerlessness.” Thus, this text is designed to help today’s believer more carefully prepare his heart and mind, thus impacting the words and content of his prayers to have more meaning and offer greater reverence to God in the process.

The book is divided into five sections, each one focusing on a different aspect of prayer: prayers on worship and the attributes of God; prayers on joy and longing; prayers on the cross and the gospel; prayers on personal holiness; and prayers on useful service. Each prayer opens with a lengthy reading of Scripture (often a whole chapter) that can be read aloud or silently. Next is the prayer, which readers will quickly note is drawn right from the scripture, reading in both tone and content. The prayers are not only beautifully expressed, they are offered to God with a humility of heart that simultaneously boldly asserts complete confidence in God’s sovereignty and ability to answer.

Readers will find much to value in each of these 52 prayers. By taking the time to prepare and then pray, MacArthur’s truest desire may come true: today’s Christian can indeed learn to pray in a way that both honors God and brings about life change in the pray-er.