Dear God,Teach Us How To Pray" focuses on our private prayer life with the Christian God of the Bible. Because the truth of the Bible is essential to prayer, the author devotes the first chapter to the truth of the Bible, the second chapter to the Christian God and the third chapter to the exclusivity of Jesus as our only intercessor with the Father. The remaining chapters deal with our motives, the necessity for forgiving others, the Lord's Prayer, Jesus' prayer for himself, his disciples and all believers; the value of using the Psalms in our prayer life; praying in a postmodern culture; a prayer "checklist"; and an appendix that briefly describes the history of Western philosophy since the Reformation, informing the reader on how it came to be that Christian prayer is scorned in today's secular culture. If you are seeking a book that will greatly enrich your prayer life, this is it! If you are not a Christian, it is the author's prayer that this book will convince you to become one.

Prayer! Incredible. I can talk to the Creator of the universe, infinite in his scope, power and love. Genesis tells us we are made in God’s image. Have you every wondered why he made us in his image? He wants us to worship him. He has given us the means to communicate with him. He wants to hear from us. He wants us to do his will. Being made in God’s very image, we can relate to God, and understand what he has revealed of himself in the Bible. Public prayer has its place in formal worship services, but it’s just not the same thing as kneeling, or standing, and having a private talk with God.

And like with any close relationship, the more time we spend with God, the closer and more natural it feels to pray, be it the morning, or at bedtime, or at meals, or anytime in between.

You need not be eloquent. Just be yourself and speak to God as you would to someone you love very much, showing the utmost respect.

Prayer encompasses a wide range of “topics,” and no one prayer needs to cover everything. 

I have written this book because the more I pray, the more it enriches my life; and I want you to experience the same thing.

I have borrowed some from my book “A Sermon: If Not God, Then Satan John 8:42-47” dealing with the Truth of the Bible, The Christian God, and the Exclusivity of Jesus, since a belief in the Christian God of the Bible and the Exclusivity of Jesus are essential to Christian prayer.

There is some overlapping between chapters. It’s unavoidable. But hopefully I have not been tiresomely redundant. Some key points are repeated, however; for it is my experience that repetition is the key to remembering long after you have finished reading this book.

I have also added questions at the end of each chapter, and a place to take notes, for self-reflection or group study, if you so choose.

In addition, I have attached an appendix that gives a brief overview of why secular culture disdains Christian prayer. It is a survey of Western philosophy since the Reformation, and I think you will find it a worthwhile history lesson.

All Bible citations and references are from the New International Version Study Bible (NIV) 1998 edition, unless otherwise noted.

May this book enrich your prayer life and bring you closer to God. If you are an unbeliever, may this book be a shining beacon, calling you to accept Jesus as your Lord and Savior, so you too may experience the awesome joy of speaking to your Creator.

Dean Gibson, MBS

Dean Gibson was raised on a small hay farm, spent his early summers as an oceanfront lifeguard, and attended Duke University, where he obtained a degree in Political Science. He went on to Duke Law School, and then practiced trial law for twenty years. He later attended Reformed Theological Seminary, where he earned a Masters Degree in Biblical Studies. He and his wife attend an Anglican home church. He is sixty-two years old, is the father to six children, and he and his wife, Susie, are blessed with eight grandchildren. They live in Charlotte, North Carolina.