How A Praying Life By Paul Miller Helped Me Rediscover the Power of Prayer

How A Praying Life Gave Me a New Perspective on Prayer

I’ve been a Christian for a long time, but to be honest, prayer has often felt dreadful, boring, and ineffective. Deep down, I know that’s not true—but those feelings still surface in my mind from time to time. Reading A Praying Life by Paul Miller gave me a fresh perspective on prayer and a much-needed boost to my spiritual life.

A friend gave me the book—maybe God knew I needed it. My prayer life had been drifting, and this book served as a wake-up call. I started reading it, put it down for a while, then picked it back up again. This time, I read it all the way through, and now I wonder why I didn’t finish it sooner. It’s such a powerful, easy-to-read, and insightful book. Paul Miller has a gift for explaining deep truths in a way that feels personal and relatable.

Here are a few things from the book that had a deep impact on me:

1. Helplessness Drives Us to Prayer

Strong Christians don’t pray more because they’re better—they pray more because they’ve realized how weak they are and how much they need God (Page 44). This was a huge lesson for me: you won’t truly pray until you feel helpless and desperate for God's help.

Let me give you an example. I’m a father. As my children grow older, I sometimes feel like the values I’m trying to instill in them aren’t getting through. That thought eats away at me. I’ve given it my best, and yet I often feel like I’m falling short. That sense of helplessness drives me to prayer. Yes, I have a responsibility—but I can’t control the outcome. Only God can.

2. Be Childlike, Not Cynical

One day, when my daughter was still young, we were at church and she met a new friend. Without hesitation, she came up to me and asked, “Can we have a sleepover tonight?” Children believe anything is possible—so they ask freely. That’s childlike faith: pure, hopeful, and unfiltered.

As we grow older, we tend to become more cynical. We stop asking. We stop believing. There are things we don’t even bother praying about anymore because we’ve convinced ourselves they’re impossible. This book challenged that mindset. It reminded me that childlike faith still pleases God. Even when I can’t do anything about a situation, I can still believe God can. I can still pray. Hope is shown through persistent prayer.

3. God Has a Bigger Story

When we pray, we usually want answers—fast. But when they don’t come, we become consumed with our story and what we want, forgetting that life isn’t just about us. God is writing a bigger story.

Think of Joseph: betrayed by his brothers, falsely accused, forgotten in prison. None of us would ever choose that storyline. But it was part of God’s greater purpose—to use Joseph to save a nation.

We may not always understand God’s story, and we may never see the full picture this side of heaven. But we can trust His process. When life feels far from what we hoped for, we can still choose to hope in God’s story—it always has a good ending.

My Takeaways

✦ Don’t Be Cynical—Have a Childlike Spirit

There are so many reasons I could be cynical today. So many reasons to give up hope. But instead, I choose to pray. Through prayer, I keep pleading with God and holding on to hope.

✦ Write Down My Prayers

One of the most practical takeaways from the book was the importance of writing down my prayers. Paul Miller explains that we write down the things that matter most to us—so if prayer is important, it’s worth recording.

There are many benefits to journaling prayers:

• You can look back and see how faithful God has been.
• You can use written prayers to worship and thank Him.
• It helps you stay grateful and recognize answered prayers.

This book didn’t just teach me about prayer—it changed the way I relate to God. It reminded me that prayer isn’t a duty; it’s a relationship. One where I can be honest, hopeful, and fully dependent on Him.

If you’d like to read it, you can find A Praying Life on Amazon.