Moving Mountains: Praying with Passion, Confidence, and Authority

Eldredge (Wild at Heart) dives deep into scripture, pop culture, and his own personal life to appeal for practiced, relentless prayer in order to open up the doors to God's grace. With an emphasis on keeping a patient heart, he instructs readers in prayers he tailors to finding and breaking down barriers that obstruct believers from embracing the mysteries of life. "Effective prayer is often like felling of a great tree," he writes: "it takes repeated blows." The image of Elijah of Tishbite on a mountaintop, praying over and over for rain, serves as Eldredge's starting point. From there he branches out to incorporate lessons garnered from an array of sources, including George MacDonald, Oswald Chambers, and C.S. Lewis. Eldredge spends the most space leading readers through scripture, but he also devotes many pages to writing out lengthy petitions to God, an approach that lends patience and perseverance to his teachings. This step-by-step guide of targeted prayer leads readers onto the path of a quiet but persistent relationship with God. (Feb.)