Pray Bold: Dare to Ask and Believe Big

“How you pray determines what kind of life you live,” contends megachurch pastor Osteen (Speak the Blessing) in this impassioned if well-worn prayer guide. Assuring readers that God “knows where your provision is, and He knows how to get it to you,” Osteen calls on believers to worship with the knowledge that God will answer their prayers when he sees fit (“If it happened instantly, it wouldn’t take any faith”). Elsewhere, Osteen advises that Christians should avoid thinking or speaking pessimistically (“God wants to show you supernatural increase, but you can cancel it out with a negative tongue”); eschew a victim mentality; and pray for others and their communities, because “every seed you sow will come back to you.” Osteen’s trademark charisma is galvanizing, and his command of lesser-known Bible stories is impressive, though repetition both within the book (the story of Jesus meeting the Samaritan woman at the well is discussed in two separate chapters) and across his other works lends this the feel of an overlong sermon. Still, Osteen’s fans will get exactly what they came for. (Jan.)