I read "A Praying Life" years ago and was excited to read "A Praying Church"because I found the first book so encouraging and relatable. I find "A Praying Church" equally relevant to the Christian church today. We need to develop a routine of corporate prayer and Miller gives us practical, attainable strategies to work towards this goal. I would recommend both of these reads to a believer looking to enrich & grow their prayer life.

This is a tremendous resource for churches to develop constancy in prayer. Miller addresses the fact that in many churches there is a lack of prayer, that is, the services have limited time set aside for prayer and a separate prayer meeting either doesn't exist or is also limited.

Jesus calls the church a house of prayer. Prayer really works and at a corporate level ('when two or three are gathered') prayer can really make an impact.

Miller's book follows a sensible outline of 25 chapters split into 5 sections:

1. Why Pray Together?
2. What is the Church?
3. How the Spirit reshapes a Praying Community
4. The Art of Praying Together
5. Specialised Praying in Community

I loved this book and will be returning to it repeatedly.

Prayer is something many of us struggle with and we often think it's 'someone else's' gifting or responsibility but it is very simply communicating with God. I've always believed that prayer in church is an important opportunity to both demonstrate its importance and also to set an example on how to do it. We learn from watching and doing. The best way to learn about praying is to pray and be in groups of prayers.

I hope Miller's book finds a home in many churches. As we've all recently witnessed with the Asbury College revival in Kentucky, prayer and worship is what initiates outpourings of the Spirit. We certainly can all learn more about praying in community and Miller's book is an excellent resource to help us.

I initially received an early ebook copy from Crossway via NetGalley but was enjoying it so much I bought a copy off the Crossway site for myself and I have no hesitation in recommending it.

"The battle to pray is not mainly a battle against prayerlessness but a battle against discouragement, cynicism, and unbelief." As soon as I read these words in the opening, I knew that this author gets it. He understands the temptations and difficulties we face as we pray. The rest of the book bore this out. It was practical and winsome. He used a lot of stories from his own life which I appreciated. It reminded me that prayer can be a time of hope and expectation. There were things I'm going to incorporate into my own prayer life. It makes me more eager to pray with others at church. It was helpful and encouraging. I'd recommend it. Thank you to Crossway for providing me with a free e-copy. All opinions are my own.

A Praying Church by Paul E. Miller encourages pastors and church leaders to look at how they approach prayer in the church and individually. I was so excited to read another book on prayer by Paul Miller as I read A Praying Life a few years ago. I really appreciated the focus on corporate prayer and the examples given throughout the book. While this is geared towards pastors and church leaders, it is a welcome read for any member of the church. There are many practical tools and encouragement in the stories told. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with a digital advanced copy!

A Praying Church: Becoming a People of Hope in a Discouraging World by Paul E. Miller is an encouragement for pastors and church leaders. And it will be useful for small groups and church members. The book is an encouragement for anyone who desires an improved prayer life. I found the concept of “prayer resisting” helpful to understanding. This is a helpful book for small groups and church ministry.

Miller admits that not many have the luxury of praying for an hour and a half each morning. He wisely encourages readers to cultivate prayer habits over time. Everything begins with prayer.  “I have no interest in doing anything that hasn’t been prayed for and prayed over,” he explains. By example and his testimony, he encourages the reader to pursue prayer.

This book quotes The Message Translation. Scripture quotations marked AT are the author’s translation. I received an Advanced Reader Copy of this book from NetGalley.

I was particularly excited to read _A Praying Church_ after reading _A Praying Life_, also by Paul E. Miller, at my church's recommendation.

I should have known I'd be good and convicted! :)

Miller pulls no punches (nor should he) in convicting the reader (and hopefully, by extension, the church) of the power of and utter need for corporate prayer within the church. It's a sadly lacking practice in many American churches.

While the "power train" metaphor felt a little forced/cheesy at times, the message remains solid, powerful, and necessary. I plan to revisit the book post release, as it includes a number of tables/figures that unfortunately didn't translate well in the eARC iteration I read.

A solid follow-up to _A Praying Life_, though one does not need to read them "in order."

I received an eARC of the book from the publisher via NetGalley. All opinions are my own.

This is a great follow up to Miller's book for individuals A Praying Life. This book gives fantastic insight both with a foundation of why praying together is so critical, and a lot of practical advice on how to start the journey of becoming a praying church. While I'm not in church leadership, I will definitely be using some of these principles in the areas of leadership I do have. It's inspired me to find other areas to pray together, even if it's not in the church context. Thank you Paul MIller for another phenomenal book on prayer. Inspiring and practical!

Thanks to NetGalley for an advance copy in exchange for an honest review.

A Praying Church: Becoming A People of Hope In A Discouraging World by Paul E. Miller does not disappoint. His conversational tone mixed with personal stories, as well as those of others, invite the reader into an engaging journey on the ministry of prayer. With grace, he outlines the misperceptions of prayer frequently found in churches and defines the church's true prayer ministry.

This book is a new favorite of mine. I found it insightful and inspirational.

Paul Miller wants the church to be a praying church, and to return prayer to its proper place. The church community should not only say prayer is important, but practice that truth. Miller covers the basics of prayer such as why we would do it and how does the Spirit work. I would encourage churches to take this volume up as something to study and strive to emulate as we enter the new year.

A Praying Church by Paul Miller was an interesting read. I'm not in full-time ministry but I am a member of a local church. His reasonings and arguments hold up and will encourage many people who serve the church.

*I received this book from the publisher through NetGalley in exchange for my review.

Overall, this is a challenging and helpful book. The drivetrain metaphor seemed odd and forced at times and there were times when the application sections felt burdensome and overly specific, but on the whole, this is a helpful and needed work,

ARC provided