Tim Keller is a theologian that I often hear other people quote. He unfortunately passed away last month, so I decided to pick up one of his books and check it out. I've been looking into different ways to develop a better prayer rhythm lately, so this seemed like a good place to start.

Overall, I thought the book was really well written and well researched. There's no question that Tim Keller did his homework and presents a fairly comprehensive look at different aspects of prayer. Unfortunately, that's also kind of what it read like... someone's homework assignment. It felt like an academic thesis full of citations and repetition and multiple examples to support the same point. It was one of those books where I'm sure someone who wants to really soak in the theology of prayer and compare and contrast the citations with their own notes and research will find it fascinating. It's the kind of book that I bet pastors probably love because it's full of sound advice and Biblical support.

But for the average reader, I found it all a little tedious. I would read a chapter or a subchapter heading and then thousands of words of support, only to look back and realize that the chapter or subchapter heading basically summed up the entire point and I could get the gist of what was being said by just reading the "executive summary" at the beginning of each chapter.

I'm kind of curious whether Tim Keller's other books are like this, or if this one was written for a specific purpose that just wasn't the same reason I was reading it. I'll probably check out another of Keller's many books in the future, but I'm not going to rush out to grab one.

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Created Mar 24, 2024 at 9:28pm • Submit your own review...