Prayer is a relational act and any relational act is difficult to understand. What does it mean to say that you understand a first kiss? What does it mean to say that you understand a good night out with friends? These are relational acts and cannot be understood in the same way you understand mathematic equations. There is no formula for prayer that runs something like this: sufficient Biblical content * (sufficient adoration + sufficient thanksgiving) + sufficient passion + sufficient time in prayer - unconfessed sin - moments of distraction in prayer = likelihood of a desired outcome in prayer. Prayer cannot be understood, nor God manipulated, in that way.
Augustine on Prayer treats both God and the self as much more than objects to be manipulated. This book treats us both as subjects and it treats prayer as part of our relationship. Its working definition is that prayer is the heart’s affectionate reaching towards God. This definition shows Augustine’s understanding of what it means to pray continually.
Augustine never produced a systematic study on prayer. Thomas Hand has compiled a wide range of Augustine’s teachings into this volume with such skill that it is hard to know where Augustine ends and Hand begins.
Augustine’s thoughts on prayer tended towards the truth that prayer changes the petitioner. This is especially pronounced in the section on the Lord’s Prayer. If there is a continuum with “prayer changes me” on one end and “prayer changes things” on the other end, Augustine would lean very strongly in the “prayer changes me” direction. In fact, there is almost nothing about prayer and any desired outcomes other than possessing God Himself. This absence does give the book a rather incomplete sense about it.
That being said, this book is certainly worth the read, but only if you are conversant with abstract language. Augustine’s turns of logic and of phrase can be delightful but also disorienting. The book is highly quotable and I have more highlights per page than any other book that I’ve read over the past couple years. Here is just a smattering that might give you a sense of whether or not this book will profit you:
“He who is unwilling to share [goodness] cannot have it.”
“Nothing that God can promise is of any worth apart from God Himself.'“
“[God’s way of drawing us to Himself is gentle; it is sweet; it is the very sweetness of it that draws you.”
“Your prayer is a conversation with God. When you read [Scripture], God speaks to you; when you pray, you speak to God.”
“He is truly happy, not if he has what he loves, but if he loves what he ought to love. Many are more miserable in having what they love than in wanting it.”
‘Do we say to you: “love nothing?” God forbid! Dull, dead, hateful, miserable shall you be if you loving nothing. Love, but take care what you love.’
“Let us live well; and that we may live well let us invoke the aid of Him who has commanded us to live well.”
“Give me what You command and command what You will.”
“The more we love God, the more we love ourselves.”
There is a good deal to unpack in those quotes and a good deal that one must unpack to understand them rightly.
While reading this book, I was struck by the constancy of human nature. Augustine wrote about man’s internal workings hundreds of years ago in a very different culture on a different continent and yet everything he writes is quite relatable. That is, to my mind, a confirmation that there is such a thing as human nature.
There are a few points in this book with which I disagreed, especially the discussion on praying for the dead. I found that discussion interesting but not convincing. That being said, it was good to spend some time in another tradition, especially after spending so much time studying and explaining my own.
Will you find this book helpful? That depends on what you want out of it. If you are looking for a practical book on prayer, this is not it. This is one. If you are looking for a study of the prayers in Scripture, this is not your book. This is one. If you are a pastor looking for a grist for the mill of your congregational prayers, this book won't prove immediately helpful. This will. If you are looking for an exploration of what it means to be a self connecting with God through prayer, this is the book you are looking for.