I read Power of the Praying Wife and Power of the Praying Husband by Stormie Omartian about five years ago. I remembered them being nice but not much else. I did appreciate there were 31 days of prayers in the books so when I found Power of the Praying Parent I decided to give it a read. The book has a few versions available. The version I read has a cute forward from her kids over the span of about 20 years on how having a praying parent impacted their lives. The version I read also has chapters on getting through teenage years and praying for adult children.
Most of the chapters can be read in five to tend minutes. This is great for parents who only have a few minutes of time here or there. I also appreciate that I can relate to what she is saying as a parent. However, even with the nice layout, ability to relate to the author, and the life stories, I can’t recommend this book.
This book seems great for generic Christianity. Books that encourage us to pray are generally good. However, the author has a view of prayer that differs from the Lutheran perspective. We would agree that prayer is more than giving a list of desires to God. However, she continues to explain prayer as, “Acknowledging and experiencing the presence of God and inviting His presence into our lives and circumstances. It’s seeking the presence of God and releasing the power of God which gives us the means to overcome any problem.” Lutherans define prayer as, “Speaking to God in Words or thoughts.” The trouble with “experiencing” God is some tend to look for a certain feeling and if the feeling isn’t there, then God isn’t there. Most should know feelings are fickle. I go through a range of emotions within seconds when my child gets hurt doing something I said not to. God also tells us He is present in His Word and Sacraments. That’s where we can seek and find God. This definition also seems to imply God gives us His power when we pray.
While the author acknowledges sometimes bad things just happen; there is often she implies if someone’s parent had just prayed harder then things most likely would have turned out differently. Praying is powerful and part of the reason we pray is for our will to be molded into God’s will. However, people’s lives don’t necessarily fall apart because someone didn’t pray for them. Sin and the Devil are at work in the world. People also make poor choices which lead to bad consequences. What it comes down to is the author tends to put more authority on prayer than on the Triune God.
God gives us good gifts, but we can use them in inappropriate ways. It seems like the author elevates prayer to an idolatrous status, even if it’s not intentional. It seems the author implies if someone prays the right things, disaster can be avoided, things will get better, and other such ideas. There doesn’t seem to be much hope outside of prayer, even if this isn’t the intended message. This is one of my fears about recommending this book. I became worried I wasn’t “praying right” since my life isn’t perfect. I even started to wonder if bad things would happen to my kids if I didn’t start always praying for them or have hour long prayer sessions to “cover them in prayer.” The author tries to take away those fears; but those words seem to be undone by the life stories she tells saying how things would be worse if she didn’t pray or how people’s lives fell apart because no one prayed for them. If those thoughts ran through my head, they could run through other’s as well.
This book does have a good sentiment. We can also take some of the topics she listed and use them as ways to pray for children. We just need to be cautious in any book we read to make sure it accurately quotes God’s Word and teachings. There is also something to be said that as we pray, the more we see God working. The more prayer, worship, and Bible readings are incorporated into our lives the most it will impact our understanding of God and faith. These things are good to do, but we also need to be cautious we don’t put these acts above Christ and His work of salvation for us.