Book Review: Praying Like Monks, Living Like Fools by Tyler Staton
Most Christians misunderstand prayer. They know that they should pray more, but insecurity, to-do lists a mile long, and the pressures in life make praying more much easier said than done. Tyler Staton, in his book Praying Like Monks, Living Like Fools, aims to dismantle the excuses that prevent us from enjoying a life of vibrant prayer and experiencing a new depth of intimacy with God as a result.
Using both stories from his own life and biblical teaching, Staton provides a compelling vision for what the Christian’s prayer life should be and provides practical tips for how it can be. In chapter 1, he reassures readers that God welcomes every sincere prayer regardless of skill level or content because he is more interested in the relationship fueled by prayer than the various methods we employ for prayer. In chapter 2, he encourages readers to keep God first and love God well by practicing an unhurried life characterized by both stillness before the Lord and interruptibility. This is the only way to build trust and be available to do God’s will whenever it is revealed. In chapter 3, he exhorted believer to incorporate deliberate adoration of God into their prayers, longing to experience God’s presence here and now in the midst of the mess of life. In chapter 4, he advocates confession as an integral part of prayer because it is only by relentlessly exposing “the depths of my personal brand of fallenness and the depths to which God’s grace has really penetrated” that we can experience real intimacy with God. In chapter 5, Staton encourages saints to pray bold prayers that will either dazzle or disappoint.
Chpater 6 calls upon the reader to approach the throne of grace with both world hunger scale prayers and parking space scale prayers because it is only through asking for pedestrian things that we can build the faith to ask for big things. In chapter 7, Staton invites believers to be active participants in the work of God, to seek his will and then volunteer to be a part of fulfilling it. In chapter 8, he challenged Christians to pray laboring prayers of intercession for those who are not yet found. In chapter 9, he commended perseverance as a key to an effective prayer life, and in chapter 10, he called upon saints to adopt a rhythm of prayer that would have them praying for certain subjects at set times around the day rather than relying exclusively upon extemporaneous prayers.
As someone who regularly feels the tension of wanting to pray more but not knowing how, Praying Like Monks, Living Like Fools was a welcome word of encouragement. Staton’s writing style is engrossing, and his insights into prayer and intimacy with God are compelling. This book was not originally on my reading list for the year, but I am thoroughly glad that it was recommended to me!
I heartily recommend this book to anyone who longs to have a deeper, more effective prayer life and/or greater intimacy with God. These things are inextricably intertwined, and Staton has provided some profound insights for realizing them both.