Unlocking the Power of Prayer: A Review of Praying Like Monks, Living Like Fools

Tyler Staton offers a fresh take on prayer

Prayer. At times, it’s so simple: Father, thank you for this carefully crafted cup of coffee.

Other times, it’s complex, emotional, and even difficult: Yahweh, why this diagnosis? Why not this job? Why doesn’t my dream fit into your will?

The purposes, possibilities, and intricacies of prayer are innumerable. For this reason, I’m always curious about a fresh perspective on prayer. Tyler Staton’s Praying Like Monks, Living Like Fools is chock-full of different ways to think of prayer and stories illustrating the power of prayer.

Staton starts by addressing the great obstacle to prayer: fear. We fear our heart isn’t right or our requests are too big/small or our emotions too volatile, or we don’t really know the best way to structure our prayers, or, worst of all, God will be silent. Staton reassures the reader that prayer is less about theory and more about practice. Also, it’s something we can’t get wrong because spending time in God’s presence is the ultimate goal.

The Lord’s Prayer

Then, Staton walks the reader phrase by phrase through Jesus’ example prayer, known as the Lord’s Prayer. He gives several overarching highlights such as how Lord’s Prayer was written in middle voice as opposed to active or passive voice. Jesus invites us to participate in bringing about the outcomes of our prayers. Prayer is meant to be a collaborative effort.

He also notes that the Lord’s Prayer is as practical as it is cosmic. How beautiful is it that we can pray for our daily needs (even desires) and the Kingdom’s advancement in the same prayer? In short, God cares for the deeply personal as well as our invocation in regard to how his will is carried out.

What About Unanswered Prayer?

Chapter 9 addresses unanswered prayer. Needless to say, this is a sensitive, often glossed-over topic. Staton gives unanswered prayer the space it requires, and he handles it with such humility and tenderness that I read this chapter three times.

While Staton offers what he has gleaned from his own experiences and those of others who have endured seasons of silence (which I found very helpful), one minuscule but profound image Staton creates left a poignant impression.

When we find ourselves confused and desperate because of how life is turning out, it often feels as though we’re crawling on the ground with an arm outstretched “feeling our way through the darkness,” he writes, in hopes of finding something familiar or comforting. In such times, Jesus joins us and crawls alongside us. He has a deeper understanding of our hardships than we do and he doesn’t intend for us to endure them alone.

The Primary Purposes of Prayer

Staton encourages the reader to think of prayer as a process—one that’s refining and relational. Prayer is less about changing God’s actions and more about changing the believer. As we persist in prayer, we discover the contents of our prayers matter, but cultivating a relationship with God matters even more. As Staton puts it, we “trade control for trust.”

The power of prayer is often equated to God’s intervention via mighty or miraculous works. While prayer can help accomplish such things, certainly, Staton would argue power of prayer is the transformative nature of being in the presence of God.

The Bookery Rating: 📙📙📙📙📙

If you’re looking for insights that can help develop your prayer life, I can’t recommend Staton’s book enough.

As an Amazon Associate, The Bookery earns from qualified purchases.