52 Ways To Grow Your Faith - A Review

52 Ways To Grow Your Faith:

Connect With God

In A Busy, Noisy World

by

Gregg Peter Farah

A Review

It was not too long ago that I preached a sermon series on “Spiritual Disciplines”.  Ways To Grow Your Faith provides a close-up view of the Spiritual Disciplines.   Each chapter includes a brief description or definition of the concept, a “Key Verse” that will help see the context for the idea, and an extended devotional focusing on the key.  Next, the chapter ends with a quotation and a challenge to use the ideal just presented.  The chapter concludes with a brief testimony of someone who had applied the chapter’s concept and a brief prayer echoing the key concept found in the chapter.  

The first chapter demonstrates this pattern.  

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The chapter is entitled “All you Need Is … TO LOOK AROUND.”  The principles is to “develop the habit of praying about anything that catches your attention throughout the day.”  A couple of ideas are given:

1.    See someone having a birthday party?  Pray for them

2.    See an emergency vehicle?  Pray for those involved

3.    Get a hug?  Thank God for the privilege of serving

The KEY VERSE is I Thessalonians 5:17, “Pray continually.”  (NCV)  Verses come from a variety of translations including the NIV and the KJV.  The devotional that follows describes the response the author (e.g. Avoiding glass on the road) and his daughter (praying) had as they passed an accident one afternoon.  This is followed a challenge to ask a friend to “join” the reader in applying the chapter’s concept.  Finally, Althea tells of her experience in using this concept for a week.  She concludes, “It made me realize I should be caring for other people, not only myself.  This experience opened my eyes!”  The chapter concludes with a brief prayer to be included in a larger prayer time.

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The book is aimed toward the person who is willing to have their walk with God challenged - not just on Sunday, but throughout the week.  The book includes suggestions for individual and group use.  When put into practice, these 52 tasks are going to make the individual more aware of their relationship to God and to their world. When do you begin?
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This review is based on a free electronic copy provided by the publisher for the purpose of creating this review.  The opinions expressed are mine alone.