Book Review: “A Praying Church” by Paul Miller

I absolutely loved A Praying Life by Miller. ¹ I have and will continue to recommend it.

I bought A Praying Church: Becoming a People of Hope in a Discouraging World with excitement, eager to read what Miller had to say about praying together. I found myself underlining already in Dane Ortlund’s introduction of the book as he quoted from Miller’s book:

• What I pray over lasts, and what I don’t pray over doesn’t last.
• I’ve seen what happens when the Spirit of Jesus inhabits a com-munity— everything starts to sparkle.
• Paul never mentions “the gift of prayer.” Why? Because there is no gift of breathing.

As I dove into the book, interestingly, I found all three of those quotes… in the first three chapters. It made me wonder if Ortlund had read any further?

I got to chapter five before I put the book down, disturbed, not quite being able to pinpoint why. Who am I to criticize Paul Miller? He’s a prayer guru (although at the end of chapter one, he says, “I’m not a spiritual guru; I’m a discipler.”)

I was particularly curious/unsettled in chapter three “The Missing Spirit of Jesus” as Miller seems to conflate the Holy Spirit and Jesus. His wording here leans dangerously close to suggesting that Jesus became the Holy Spirit.

“The first man Adam became a living being; the last Adam became the life-giving Spiri” (1 Cor. 15:45). What does Paul mean that Jesus became life-giving Spirit? The Spirit unites with Jesus so intimately that, without losing their separate identities, Jesus and the Spirit become functionally one.

Most translations obscure how radical Paul’s description of Jesus’s resurrection is. Here’s a typical translation: “The last Adam became a life-giving spirit.” That doesn’t say much. Jesus was already a life-giving spirit. But to say that Jesus became life-giving Spirit means that Jesus was so transformed by the Spirit that his body had become a Spiritual body… Jesus and the Spirit are so united that Paul easily interchanges “Spirit” and “Lord” or joins them in a single phrase, “the Spirit of the Lord.”

I stopped reading and started skimming after chapter six. There’s a lot in the book to digest, and I’m sure there’s some helpful thoughts. I was honestly convicted about the need to model and invite and inspire prayer in my church – but not from Miller’s content. It was more from his overall point. Yes, the American church needs to become more spiritual, driven by our intimacy with Jesus rather than our vision statements and plans.

However, Miller’s tone seemed critical of the church at many points. He leads a parachurch ministry. It’s easy to snipe at the church and paint broad strokes at perceived prayerlessness. So my skimming lead me to simply search for reviews of the book.

I found these to be helpful and charitable, while simultaneously identifying some of the things I was sensing:

• Book Review: A Praying Church, by Paul E. Miller by Gary Millar (9Marks: June 2, 2023)

This is an important, engaging, and timely book. I hope many pastors read it, and I hope they read it critically. Unfortunately, if you expect a clear and robust explanation of the nature of the church and why we must pray, then you may be disappointed. The lack of a clear ecclesiology is evident at several key points. In the same way, if you go looking for careful exegesis of key biblical passages, you will not find many. Often, biblical texts are alluded to, or appealed to for support; they are rarely explained or wrestled with.

• A Review of “A Praying Church: Becoming a People of Hope in a Discouraging World,” by Harrison Perkins (RefCast: January 2023)

Primarily, Miller wrote a book about the church at prayer but is decidedly non-churchly in his outlook. His stories about his father’s pastoral work are clearly set in the context of the work of the local church. Even those stories, however, seem to be more nostalgic about dear old dad than driven by providing wisdom for prayer in the church. In this respect, they themselves have a syrupy feel that Miller himself says is not helpful.

Further, Miller’s primary focus is rarely the church as he writes in the context of a parachurch organization. Often he snubs his nose at churches that he finds to be too minded for the elite and not attentive enough to ordinary people.

In light of all the five-star reviews of this book, I encourage you to read those and be encouraged. Many, many people are finding strong encouragement from A Praying Church. I simply did not. However, I will most assuredly be thinking, praying, and seeking to inspire and invite others in my church more consistently into dependent prayer. I just won’t be finishing this book to do it.

1. Review: A Praying Life[↩]