This afternoon I reread a book, one that I purchased almost two decades ago. It's called Too Busy Not to Pray: Slowing Down to Be with God, by Bill Hybels. In just thirteen short chapters, Hybels considers a number of topics, beginning with the adventure of prayer, reasons we don't stop to pray, the power of prayer and a biblical pattern of prayer, finally concluding with a brief chapter on "Living in God's Presence." I had read this book before, but it impacted me much more on the second reading, probably because when I read it for the first time I thought I had all the answers. I don't have all of the answers, just a lot of gray hair and I found the book inspiring and thought-provoking. I really appreciated Hybels' practical examples and illustrations. I probably ended up highlighting a third of the book to come back to and review in greater detail.
My next action, (after praying of course), will be to create a mind map of the key points. I find mind mapping a useful tool when I am studying or thinking about complex topics. Inspired by fellow Lotus Notes blogger, Thomas Duff, who somehow manages to write 3+ book reviews a week, I think I'll try and review this book over the next six months to a year. The book is not very thick but the concepts are quite rich and I want to treat these with the attention they deserve. For this reason, I will create a category on the blog to classify what I learn from the book.
Whether your prayer life is rich and relational, sporadic or even nonexistent, I strongly recommend the book.
UPDATE: Apparently, the book has remained a best seller and this year the publisher even released at 20th anniversary edition.
Amazon Link: Too Busy Not to Pray: Slowing Down to Be With God
Discussion/Comments (4):
I think I'll have to order that one from Amazon, as our local library doesn't have a copy..
Posted at 12/08/2008 4:36:48 by Duffbert
As someone who does pray everyday, never heard of this but will check it out at the library too.
Posted at 12/08/2008 9:56:31 by Keith Brooks
Please let me know how you worked this book using a mind map.I would like to do one a post the concept on my wall.
Thanks
Posted at 05/07/2009 9:19:04 by wanda
Yea, I picked this book from the bookshelf in our basement last night and read the first chapter. I also did the study questions listed in the back. Several things stood out. One was the quote 'If the Holy Spirit has...', the other was some of the anecdotes and finally the story of Moses/ Joshua and the Amalekites. I found myself asking... Can I claim these do they apply to everyone who reads? I'll close by saying that I was VERY encouraged by doing the study questions. Although I wasn't inspired to Mind map, I was inspired to put together a prayer/perception/response flow chart. Also I just do happened to pull the Romans 8:26 verse from the kjv. I'm not dogmatic in versions, but I must say that the exercise of writing that verse out was liberating.
Posted at 03/30/2010 10:41:07 by Medamo
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