PrayerWalk: Becoming a Woman of Prayer, Strength, and Discipline
by Janet Holm McHenry

List Price: $13.99
Our Price: $3.97
You Save: $10.02 (72%)
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Buy Used: from $0.01 (click here)
Category: Book
See more book details and other editions

Book Summary Information

Book Reviews of PrayerWalk: Becoming a Woman of Prayer, Strength, and Discipline

Book Review: A great idea, but drawn out way too long
Summary: 2 Stars

"PrayerWalk" is a great idea, but it could have benefited from tighter editing. The idea is drawn out way past its time, and the writing becomes repetitive. And why is it targeted only toward women? Unless you need to be convinced that walking is simple and beneficial to one's health, as well as how to go about it, about one-third of this book can be skipped or at least skimmed over. And why is "PrayerWalk" capitalized twice in the title, but referred to as "prayerwalk" throughout the rest of the book, as well as in Amazon.com's own reference to the title?

The "great idea," however, is taking the perspective of God as one's "Personal Trainer." McHenry portrays a God as waiting at the doorstep for us to begin our morning walk together: a date with God! "How could I stay in bed when God was waiting for me? I got up!" Certainly, the first third of "PrayerWalk" helps focus on making a morning walk a much more intentional practice.

In her chapter on "Making Time," McHenry makes the insightful and amusing suggestion that God "wants us to have regular garage sales." "If I'm not regularly holding spiritual garage sales to give up spaces of my life, then I'm not sincere in my desire to know Christ more fully ... We cannot do all that we'd like to do. We have to make choices ... As Christians, we are called to have different priorities ... Before you start prayerwalking, determine that you will put God first in your life ... Instead of looking for snatches of time, commit to meeting God regularly and faithfully, and then trust that the other choices of your day will be the right ones ... God is now the number-one priority of your day."

McHenry's revelation of how prayerwalking helped her deal with her father's death, however, comes across as embarrassingly immature. The author fully reveals her emotional dependency on her father, rather than a deep and mature relationship with him. It is possible, then, to view her prayerwalking as transferring her emotional dependency on her father to a man-like but omnipotent God, in a very fundamentalist sense.

The last third of McHenry's book takes on a very simplistic, born-again tone. Her suggestion for "spiritual mapping," adapted from C. Peter Wagner's "Breaking Strongholds in Your City," is interesting and thought-provoking, but for more intellectual reasons than praying against "the enemy." And although McHenry describes prayerwalking has having brought about a heightened awareness in her, her last chapter, "Faces of Answered Prayer," seems too simplistic and results-oriented, the exact opposite of what prayer should be. Prayer is reflection, a dialogue and relationship-building with God, a focus on the life that we are a part of. It is not a shopping list we present to God.

Overall, however, "PrayerWalk" can contribute toward undertaking one's morning walk as an intentional, rather than incidental, prayerwalk, which in itself is a valuable lesson in discipline and a step toward spiritual growth and insight.

Summary of PrayerWalk: Becoming a Woman of Prayer, Strength, and Discipline

Challenge your body.   Feed your spirit.   Change the world.

Ask any Christian woman about her most recent New Year?s resolutions, and you?ll likely find that ?exercise regularly? and ?pray more? were at the top of her list. We all long to look and feel our best, to live actively and healthfully. More than that, we desire to connect intimately with our God. Yet physical health and spiritual growth often take a backseat to the urgent demands of grocery shopping and bill paying, time with family and friends, and long hours at the office.
 
It?s Time to Exercise Your Prayer Life.
 
Three years ago, author Janet Holm McHenry suffered from depression, weight gain, and exhaustion. Then she began a prayerwalk routine that not only transformed her life but also profoundly impacted the lives of those around her.
 
Learn how you, too, can set out on a journey to increased energy, better health, and greater joy?and experience a rich, full prayer ministry that will have a lasting impact on your loved ones and community?in PrayerWalk.
 
 ?Prayerwalking makes so much sense, you?ll wonder why you haven?t been doing it all your life!? ?Heather and David Kopp, coauthors of the Praying the Bible series
 
?Honest, humorous, and insightful, PrayerWalk will encourage your heart.?
?Linda Dillow, author of Intimate Issues

Christian Living Books

• Subjects > Christian Books & Bibles > Christian Living
• Health, Fitness & Dieting > Exercise & Fitness > Walking
• Religion & Spirituality > Spirituality > Prayer