A Praying Church

I’ll admit: I rolled my eyes at first. *Another book on prayer?* But Miller’s *A Praying Church* hooked me by page three—not with guilt, but with a question that gnawed at me: *What if the reason prayer feels so anemic in my life is because I’ve been doing it alone?* This isn’t a how-to; it’s a *why-to*, packed with stories of churches where prayer became the pulse of community, not an afterthought. Miller’s honesty about his own struggles (like the time his prayer group dissolved into silence for *twenty minutes*) makes the book feel like a conversation, not a sermon. Marcus Jackman’s narration is the perfect match: warm but unsentimental, with a cadence that mirrors Miller’s blend of urgency and humility. His delivery shines in the ‘prayer experiments’ scattered through the book—simple, risky prompts like ‘Try praying for five minutes without asking for anything.’ Jackman’s pauses here invite participation, making the audiobook feel interactive. My only critique? The production occasionally buries Miller’s humor under Jackman’s earnestness—a few dry asides (like comparing prayer meetings to ‘a bad book club’) could’ve landed harder with a lighter touch. And while the book’s structure jumps between theology and anecdote, the transitions sometimes feel abrupt in audio. Still, by the end, I found myself pausing mid-commute to scribble down Miller’s challenge: *‘Stop praying for your church. Start praying with it.’* That’s the kind of conviction this audiobook leaves you with.