The Light of His Presence: Prayers to Draw You Near to the Heart of God

In this collection of heartfelt prayers, Lotz (Jesus in Me), Billy Graham’s daughter, shares struggles with her prayer life and ways she deepened her practice. She calls maintaining a steady prayer practice one of the “greatest challenges of my Christian life” and describes how God helped her overcome issues with concentration, consistency, and “knowing what to say and how to say it” as she learned to write down her prayers. She reminds readers to “develop an intimate, personal relationship with the One who loves you, gave Himself for you, and longs for you to live in the light of His presence.” The devotional trove she produces includes prayers based on worship, confession, and thanksgiving, as well as those meant for surrender, protection, confessions of sin, and acknowledgments of the need for God’s grace. It concludes with two appendixes to deepen the reader’s prayer life: “The Believer’s Birthright,” a list of God’s blessings that Lotz wrote after her home was burglarized, and a list of sins to prepare “the heart through confession.” Lotz compares sin to the tiny gnat-like pests Southerners call “no-see-ums,” confessing that she finds it difficult to see sin in her life until it “bites” her. Lotz’s graceful, transformative work will be of help to any Christian who struggles with prayer. (Oct.)