BOOK REVIEW: “Your 100 Day Prayer” a dull tool

There are a lot of books on the shelves of Christian bookstores dedicated to teaching us how to pray, or serving as a guide or journal for prayer. “Your 100 Day Prayer” is a new book by John I. Snyder (published by Thomas Nelson) that joins this attempt, but turns out to be a dull tool for Christians to use.

The subtitle of the book — “The Transforming Power of Actively Waiting on God” — is what the writer focuses on. But the result is a generic coupling of Christian disciplines to create a tool that doesn’t make a lot of sense.

First, the concept for the book is for Christians to spend 100 days praying about a persistent need or problem. The idea for 100 days of prayer, as the author himself admits, is just a random number; the need for persistence in prayer is the point. It could be persisting in prayer for 5 days, 30 days, 90 days … the author simply chose 100 days without any significant reason.

“The 100-day prayer is simply a way of bringing before God major issues, challenges, concerns, or transitions in our lives. There’s really nothing magic about a hundred days …” Snyder writes.

Second, in the introduction of the book, Snyder begins using the example of “the Lord’s Prayer” for some instruction on how to pray. But he only touches on the biblical text rather than developing it to any substantial degree.

Next, while acknowledging the need to seek God’s will when praying, and noting there are multiple reasons for prayer, Snyder quickly surrenders to the idea that prayer is primarily for asking things of God. Yet the transformational experience of 100 days itself suggests a greater relevance for prayer. Thus, the writer contradicts himself with an unclear (and inaccurate) message.

Beyond the introduction, each chapter opens with a scripture text, followed by a short daily devotional, a suggestion for “today’s prayer,” and finishes with blank lines to record “today’s progress.”

I found the devotions to be “hit or miss” … some were mediocre in quality of writing and content, while others were insightful, if not nearly brilliant. Yet the selection of scriptures are random since they can’t be selected for individual need.

My conclusion was that while I could appreciate the author’s intent and effort, a person would likely be better served to sit down with a Bible and a notebook, use scripture specific to their life challenges, pray for as many days as necessary for their needs, and use the notebook as a journal. This would make for a sharper application of Christian disciplines than using the dull tool of this well-meaning book.

Scotty

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from Thomas Nelson Publishers as part of their BookSneeze.com book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”