Book: Dangerous Prayers: Because Following Jesus Was Never Meant to Be Safe
Basic Information :
Synopsis :
Expectations :
Thoughts :
Evaluation :
Book Group :
Book References :
Good Quotes :
Table of Contents :
References
Basic Information:
Author: Craig Groeschel
Edition: ePub on Libby from the Fresno County Public Library
Publisher: Zondervan
ISBN: 0310343127 (ISBN13: 9780310343127)
Start Date: October 10, 2020
Read Date: November 15, 2020
192 pages
Genre: Christianity
Language Warning: None
Rated Overall: 3½ out of 5
Religion: Christianity
Religious Quality: 3½ out of 5
Christianity-Teaching Quality: 3½ out of 5
Synopsis:
The author explores three personal prayers:
- Search Me
- Break Me
- Send Me
Concluding with Disturb Me. There are discussion questions at the end of the book.
- Recommendation: Jeremy Vaccaro
- When: September 13, 2020
- Date Became Aware of Book: September 13, 2020
- How come I want to read this book: Sermon series based upon this book.
- What do I think I will get out of it?
Thoughts:
Introduction
The author notes that prayeng, what he says are long, focused, eloquent, and powerful prayers was challenging. I am wondering if he would also add authentic prayers as well. For I feel that my prayers barely reach the ceiling, let along the Living God. It sounds like Groeschel has a similar thought.
Groeschel notes that the people of the Bible prayed incredibly personal prayers. Anger, agony, frustration, love, were all part of their prayers. They were also practical prayers. He notes that the prayers that move God are simple, authentic, and heartfelt. And then he compares his own prayers and feels that they are too safe. He says that is what makes them lame.
He notes that today, a lot of prayer is more like buying a lottery ticket, you cannot win unless you pray. Or even worse, you feel guilty if you do not pray.
Prayers are inherently dangerous
Part 1: Search Me - Psalm 139:23-24:
Search me, God, and know my heart;
test me and know my anxious thoughts.
See if there is any offensive way in me,
and lead me in the way everlasting.
Chapter 1.1: Search Me
He starts the chapter talking about a chaplain who wanted the denomination his mother was in so he could pray the appropriate prayer. It seemed rather rote. The lesson Groeschel got from this was that Praying from the heart is personal and unmistakable. A corollary to this is if we get bored praying, then I wonder if we’re really praying. Introspection of how you are making contact with God. Is talking to the God of the universe routine and not getting my full attention? I wonder about my prayers then.
Chapter 1.2: Truth or Dare
Prayer is sacred communication, the language of longing, a divine dialogue between you and your heavenly. He has these lines which are really expansive. But then they are followed by some pretty mundane things.
Chapter 1.3: The State of Your Heart
The author notes that this prayer was said while David was fleeing from Saul. The prayer of Search Me is a recognition that we are not good and we do need to know our faults. We tend to be self-delusional, not recognizing where our faults are.
Chapter 1.4: Hard Choices
The author talks about meeting the Search Me prayer when he was a youth. It was then he realized what sin was. It was then that I realized the closer I got to Jesus, the more I’d have to face my shortcomings. My pride. My selfishness. My lust. My critical spirit.
Chapter 1.5: Reveal My Fears
What holds my mind hostage? What fears invalid my mind? If our weakness is where many of our fears reside, the fear of failing. Grace from God is the antidote.
Chapter 1.6: Uncover My Sins
The purpose of Search Me is not to figure out where one sins, but where we have hurt or offended God’s heart. No place for excuses when you have hurt someone, you only make things worse. If I need to rationalize something, then there probably is something wrong.
Chapter 1.7: Lead Me
Recaps this section. Search Me will have God lead me into areas of my life. Some areas the author notes:
- Show me my hypocrisy. Places where the words honor God, but my heart is far away.
- Know my anxious thoughts. Where do I fear or feel insecure
- Where do I offend?
- Lead Me
Part 2: Break Me - 1 Corinthians 11:24
when he had given thanks, he broke it and said,
“This is my body, which is for you;
do this in remembrance of me.
Chapter 2.1: Break Me
Talks about the Prayer of Jabez (1 Chronicles 4:9-10). Centered on what I want-I want more and I want to be free of pain. What the author calls a safe prayer. He also notes it is a prayer which stunts our growth by not letting God break us out of our mold. He thinks that James 1:2-4 is more of a prayer of growth, where we are thankful for times of trial.
Chapter 2.2: Burst Your Bubble
The person God uses, He will first break so that they can be of use. No promise of survival.
It is doubtful whether God can bless a man greatly until he has hurt him deeply. AW Tozer, The Root of the Righteous, p165
Chapter 2.3: Status Quo
Requires honesty. We naturally do not want to be broken-it is not fun. We want comfort.
Chapter 2.4: Broken and Released
He goes into playing safe vs growth. But I also suspect that most of us don’t realize that by playing it safe, we risk missing something far more precious than our security and comfort. Surround means to hold back nothing.
Chapter 2.5: Breaking Bread
Jesus is given as an example of being broken.
One of the men sitting with Jesus at the table was Luke the physician. Am I reading this right? Luke was not part of Christianity until well after Jesus's death, at least not the group. See Wikipedia for a summary biography. Only a slight possibility he was with Jesus, under one scenario. Most likely he came from Antioch. At best this was a distraction for me. At worst, it throws doubt about other things Groeschel says.
Some believe that Jesus’ “do this” also refers to how we are to live. The author extends the Lord's Supper into our lives with the "do this" words. I think he is forcing this. He mentions scholars think there is this extension.
Chapter 2.6: Jack-in-the-Box
When you are broken, you will know it.
Chapter 2.7: Breaking Bad
Example of being broken
Chapter 2.8: Bound by Brokenness
The author tells how he was broken, by his failing in a friendship which ended in suicide of his friend. No matter what he had done, I knew I should have acted sooner to mend our friendship. Not his application, but a good reminder that it is better to act quickly to mend a friendship. The author felt guilty, not a casual guilt, but deep.
It’s easy to impress people with our strengths, but real connections are forged through our shared weaknesses.
Groeschel wonders what would happen if we embraced brokenness rather than fleeing from it.
Chapter 2.9: Blessed by Brokenness
Tells a story about a person who suffered pain and would not be able to escape it. Instead of running, he started to give himself selflessly. John explained to me that tinnitus is the worst pain he could ever imagine. And yet, by God’s grace, he’d never been closer to God than he was in that moment.
True brokenness before God isn’t a one-time event; it’s a daily decision. Reminds one of Jesus’ words: Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me.. (Luke 9:23)
Groeschel says this is not just for those who are called with singularity in their lives like monks or pastors, but for all who want to follow Jesus.
Part 3: Send Me - Isaiah 6:8
Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, “Whom shall I send? And who will go for us?”
And I said, “Here am I. Send me!”
Chapter 3.1: Send Me
The author talks about being part of something bigger than we are. More than consumer, but contributor. He starts with JFK’s invitation during his inaugural address. Rather than asking God to serve us, what if we told God we are available to serve him. What if we asked God what can I do? Where can I be? Instead of asking him to give us things.
This does get to the place of where am I a consumer and where am I a contributor in our family, church, society?
Chapter 3.2: When God Calls, Answer
Groeschel talks about the sense of calling. He seems to be talking more in terms of a “professional” Christian call, rather than the calling to be a bricklayer, even though he does not say this particularly. He then goes on and talks about how God called various people in the Bible.
One thing which sticks out is his statement that God never calls perfect people. To me this is interesting because in today’s society, we seem to want perfection from our leaders, whether religious or political. When they fail the perfection test, they are discarded. Of course, these same leaders try to project a sense of perfection.
Chapter 3.3: Glory to God
Submission to God is required. Groeschel gives some pretty trivial examples of what people think it may be. This type of dangerous prayer of submission is not easy to pray, especially if you don’t have a deep trust and reverence for God. The conclusion is that you need to know who God is and trust in Him. If you’re going to ask God to use you, then a genuine encounter with him goes a long way in trusting him. This is not a God in the abstract, but The God who is real.
Consequently to achieve this, you need to know Him. You need to see him as real. What is He like? The Bible does give several qualities of Him so that we can understand his character. Such as: Creator, God of glory,righteous, comfort, peace, …. Meditate on them. In very many ways, Scripture has us given us a way to know the unknowable, at least as much as our minds can grasp.
Chapter 3.4: A Sinner Saved by Grace
He talks about the need to recognize your sinfulness. To apply to God that He will be grateful to me. There is nothing better to fuel your prayer life than a deep appreciation for God’s grace. He started the chapter by asking about feeling the presence of God. I do not think that there is a formula like having God come at our command. Rather I think that God will come into my life whether I am ready for Him or not. Most likely I will not be ready. But I do know that those times when His presence has been known, I have come away refreshed.
Interesting phrase: part-time follower of Christ. Is my life dedicated to following Him? Or is it on a sometimes basis?
Chapter 3.5: Daily Nourishment
These dangerous prayers are daily, not a once in a life or even once in a while This is part of daily submission. What does this mean? What does it look like?
What you feed grows. What you starve dies. Works both ways-to grow in God, you need to feed your spirit. To do away with those things in your life which prevent God working in my life, it needs to be starved. Easier said than done. Run away from something that would tempt you to do wrong. A friend of his was addicted to porn. ...he tried to quit his daily doses of adrenaline-infused visual entertainment, he discovered that he was more trapped than he realized.
… as you grow in your trust in God, every now and then, he will ask you to do something radical.
Chapter 3.6: A Single Act of Faith
The challenge which Groeschel gives is to do one thing daily that takes faith. It does not need to be big or complex, he thinks simply is good. Example is helping someone in the store who is tight with cash.
Chapter 3.7: Your Will Be Done
Groeschel personalized his prayers of sending. He take[s] time to pause, pray, and devote specific parts of my body to him. Groeschel has the form of a prayer which he prays each day. I have copied that prayer into another blog.
Chapter 3.8: Now What’s the Question?
He relates a story where a man comes up to his pastor and tells him that his answer will always be Yes. He just needs the question to go with it. That is how we are to be to needs and to Christ. This is the heart Christ can use.
Conclusion: Disturb Me, Lord
Groeschel starts this chapter with What we pray about is important. But not only is it important, it’s also revealing. I would also add, what I do not pray for also shows my state as well. In addition, when and how often I do gets added to the list. Groeschel advocates a prayer audit. What have I prayed for in the past week?
Groeschel says it is time to be disturbed, to be broken. He closes the book with:
Close the book
Open your heart.
Cry out to God.
Pray
Pray a Dangerous Prayer Today
As a mini-appendix, he references several prayers from the Bible:
- Starter Prayer
- Lord’s Prayer - Mat6:9-13
- Search Me
- Psalm 139
- Psalm 13
- Break Me
- 1 Corinthians 11:24
- Luke 22:42
- Send Me
- Isaiah 6:8
- Esther 4:16
- Psalm 40:9-10
- Confession Prayers
- Psalm 32
- Psalm 142
- Psalm 51
- When Life is Unbearable
- Psalm 102:1-11
- Matthew 27:46
- Luke 23:46
- Prayers for Healing
- Psalm 6:2-9
- Romans 15:13
- Prayers of Praise
- Psalm 100
- Psalm 19
- Prayer for Unity
- John 17:20-23
- Purposeful Prayers
- Ephesians 3:14-21
- Colossians 1:9-12
- Philippians 1:9-11
- Prayers of Blessing
- Numbers 6:24-26
- 1 Chronicles 4:10
- Prayers of Guidance
- Psalm 25:1-6
- Exodus 33:13
- Prayers for Boldness
- Acts 4:29-30
- Prayer for Salvation and Help
- Jonah 2:2-9
I became interested in this book because my pastor had a sermon series based upon it. In a lot of ways, this is an ordinary Christian book on prayer. Most of what Groeschel talks about can be found in an “everyday” sermon series on prayer. He challenges us to be earnest in prayer, he wants us to understand that prayer is not to be taken lightly.
If that was all to the book, that would be the end of this review. Groeschel’s main themes is the seriousness and life changing aspect of three, two word prayers:
- Search Me
- Break Me
- Send Me
These are prayers which, taken out of the Psalms, offers a person’s life to God and says use me in whatever way you want. This is the real strength of the book. Even if you do not read the book, meditate on these words and see if you want to take up Groeschel’s challenge. Actually it is God’s challenge to our lives.
Notes from my book group:
Many of these questions are either from or adapted from LitLovers.
Why the title of Dangerous Prayers?
Does this story work as a How To Book? Or what type of book?
Did the ending seem fitting? Satisfying? Predictable?
Every story has a world view. Were you able to identify this story’s world view? What was it? How did it affect the story?
Why do you think the author wrote this book?
What would you ask the author if you had a chance?
What “takeaways” did you have from this book?
What central ideas does the author present?
Are they personal, sociological, global, political, economic, spiritual, medical, or scientific
What evidence does the author use to support the book's ideas?
Is the evidence convincing...definitive or...speculative?
Does the author depend on personal opinion, observation, and assessment? Or is the evidence factual—based on science, statistics, historical documents, or quotations from (credible) experts?
What implications for you, our nation or the world do these ideas have?
Are these idea’s controversial?
To whom and why?
Are there solutions which the author presents?
Do they seem workable? Practicable?
How would you implement them?
How did this book affect your view of the world?
Of how God is viewed?
What questions did you ask yourself after reading this book?
- Talk about specific passages that struck you as significant—or interesting, profound, amusing, illuminating, disturbing, sad...?
- What
was memorable?
Book References:
The Prayer of Jabez by Bruce Wilkerson
Good Quotes:
- First Line: “Hey, Craig, do you believe God still does miracles?”
- Last Line: Pray.
- Prayers are inherently dangerous. Chp Introduction
- It is doubtful whether God can bless a man greatly until he has hurt him deeply. AW Tozer, The Root of the Righteous, p165
- It’s easy to impress people with our strengths, but real connections are forged through our shared weaknesses. Chapter 2.8: Bound by Brokenness
- Rather than asking God to serve us, what if we told God we are available to serve him. Chapter 3.1: Send Me
- God never calls perfect people. Chapter 3.2: When God Calls, Answer
- What you feed grows. What you starve dies. Chapter 3.5: Daily Nourishment
- What we pray about is important. But not only is it important, it’s also revealing. Conclusion: Disturb Me, Lord
Introduction
Part 1: Search Me
Chapter 1.1: Search Me
Chapter 1.2: Truth or Dare
Chapter 1.3: The State of Your Heart
Chapter 1.4: Hard Choices
Chapter 1.5: Reveal My Fears
Chapter 1.6: Uncover My Sins
Chapter 1.7: Lead Me
Part 2: Break Me
Chapter 2.1: Break Me
Chapter 2.2: Burst Your Bubble
Chapter 2.3: Status Quo
Chapter 2.4: Broken and Released
Chapter 2.5: Breaking Bread
Chapter 2.6: Jack-in-the-Box
Chapter 2.7: Breaking Bad
Chapter 2.8: Bound by Brokenness
Chapter 2.9: Blessed by Brokenness
Part 3: Send Me
Chapter 3.1: Send Me
Chapter 3.2: When God Calls, Answer
Chapter 3.3: Glory to God
Chapter 3.4: A Sinner Saved by Grace
Chapter 3.5: Daily Nourishment
Chapter 3.6: A Single Act of Faith
Chapter 3.7: Your Will Be Done
Chapter 3.8: Now What’s the Question?
Conclusion: Disturb Me, Lord
Acknowledgments
Pray a Dangerous Prayer Today
Discussion Questions
References:
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