Book Review
Your 100 Day Prayer: The Transforming Power of Actively Waiting on God
Reviewed by Paula R. Kincaid, The Layman, March 30, 2012
“Lord, teach us to pray.” (Luke11:1). Is this your prayer?
Your 100 Day Prayer: The Transforming Power of Actively Waiting on God
By John I. Snyder
Thomas Nelson Publisher
240 pages; $11.86
John Snyder’s new book, Your 100 Day Prayer, is meant to be a guide for the Christian to bring his/her “crisis or problem of greater than normal difficulty” before God for 100 days.
“The 100-day prayer is simply a way of bringing before God major issues, challenges, concerns or transitions in our lives,” says Snyder in the book’s introduction. “The intent is only that we bring before God the same issue every day for that period of time.”
Snyder says the idea “comes straight from the teaching of Jesus: We are supposed to keep on asking, keep on seeking, and keep in knocking if we’re to expect things from our heavenly Father. Apparently this sustained, stubborn, never-give-up spirit of prayer is not so much to persuade God to give us what we want but, rather, to transform us in the process.”
The 100-day prayer vigil starts with the “Prayer to Begin:”
Lord, as I embark on this journey of prayer, come and banish from my heart every last trace of self-reliance and captivate my mind with the truth that you are sufficient for my every need, great or small. Transform me by increasing my confidence in you, in all your extravagant forgiveness and mercy and strengthen my trembling knees in the face of trouble. Cause my loved ones and me to emerge from this season of prayer with a fresh vision of your glory, a new and lasting fearlessness, and a renewed devotion to your purpose for Jesus’ sake. Amen.
The petitions in this prayer alone, if earnestly prayed, would help in any Christian’s walk with God:
- “Come and banish from my heart every last trace of self-reliance.”
- “Captivate my mind with the truth.”
- “Transform me by increasing my confidence in you.”
- “Cause my loved ones and me to emerge … with a fresh vision of your glory and a renewed devotion to your purpose.”
Snyder notes in the section of “How to use this book,” that Jesus Himself never prayed the Lord’s Prayer, instead it was how He instructed the disciples to pray. His prayer life was exemplified by the heart-felt, soul-wrenching words spoken in the Garden of Gethsemane, “Your will be done.”
Each day includes a Scripture verse, a brief message, and what I appreciate most — a suggestion for what that day’s prayer should be, not a written prayer that is easily read and then forgotten. It also includes a section where the reader can record any perceived progress made on the prayer concern. This approach requires thought, attentiveness and work for the reader.
Snyder reminds the reader that “If God answered our prayers of desperation the very moment we prayed (which He sometimes does) it’s likely we wouldn’t grow very much. But if God lets us hang on in fervent prayer for an extended period of time, causing us to recognize that we are totally dependent on Him and not ourselves, then He accomplishes something he doesn’t in another way. …. If God waits until the very last second after allowing every possible attempt on our part to get ourselves out of the jam, then we are more apt to see the divine hand in the whole business. God chooses this path for many of us because He wants us to recognize His perfect plan and purpose for our lives.”
Before starting the 100-days of prayer, Snyder makes it clear that God may not answer the prayer in the way that you would like Him to:
“Give yourself to this 100-day spiritual discipline, and you will reap the benefits of it. Only let God in His perfect wisdom be the judge of exactly what He chooses those benefits to be and when He chooses to grant them. When all is said and done, the conclusion of every one of our prayers should be, ‘Even though I’ve made it perfectly clear what I want, nevertheless … your will be done.’”
The book ends with a space for the reader to write the concluding date, how God answered the request and a concluding prayer.
What an incredible prayer journal this will be for any Christian wanting to improve his/her prayer life.
Snyder is a pastor, author and conference speaker. He has taught New Testament studies at New College Berkley, Calif., and has pastored and planted churches in California, New York and Switzerland. He is the author of Jesus: The Only Way? and These Sheep Bite. His website is www.community312.com.