Why has God not answered my prayers? What should I be praying for? If everything I prayed for came true, would I be ready?

In this spiritual classic, Eberhard Arnold mines the riches of biblical teaching on prayer and the example of Jesus, the Hebrew prophets, and the early Christians to point us back to the prayer that pleases God most – prayer that has the power to transform our lives and our world.

In a new reflective response, much-loved author Richard J. Foster relates Arnold’s words to our contemporary reality.

From Eberhard Arnold’s closing chapter, ​“Praying for the Kingdom”:

Do we have the faith that through our prayer the status quo can be shattered? Can we believe that at our call Christ will come among us to judge and save? When we ask for the Holy Spirit, are we ready for God to strike us like a burst of flaming lightning, so that at last we experience Pentecost? Do we really believe that God’s kingdom is imminent? Are we capable of believing that through our pleading, this kingdom will break in? Are we able to believe that as a result of our prayer the entire history of the world will be turned topsy-turvy.

Let us come to God in the absolute certainty that Jesus’ words are true: ​“The kingdom of God has drawn near!” and, ​“If you have faith, nothing will be impossible for you.” Wonders will take place, mountains will be torn from their place, and the whole situation as it is on earth will be changed. Mighty things will happen when we have faith.

2016