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Review of Peter Adam, Prayerfulness: Cultivating a Bible-enriched Prayer Life, Sydney: Matthias Media, 2025.

I know I’m not the only one who struggles with prayer. Even so, it feels like an embarrassing admission for someone who was born and raised in a Christian family! For many of us, we know we should be more prayerful. We wish we prayed more often and with more enthusiasm! But, for some reason, it’s hard.

When it comes to my prayer life, Prayerfulness, by Peter Adam, has been a great encouragement to me. He writes with the warmth of a father and mentor, constantly pointing to God and His grace, while not shying away from hard truths. He points out that our problem of ‘prayerlessness’ can have many causes, such as an overconfidence in our ability or our worldly busyness among others. On top of that, we live in a culture that largely ignores God’s role in the universe, which can make us doubt our own prayers. But at the heart, our biggest barrier is sin. After all, our holy God “cannot and will not turn a blind eye to sin” as we approach Him.

Challenging this great barrier is where Adam’s book truly shines. Again and again, he reminds his readers that our ground for approaching God is not our goodness but our union with Jesus. It’s His sacrifice that perfects us and gives us “confidence to enter the Most Holy Place” (Hebrews 10:19). Because of Jesus, we are welcomed into God’s presence! Because of Jesus, our prayers too are welcomed into His presence. As Adam’s says, quoting Calvin: “our prayers are cleansed by sprinkled blood.” With this foundation, all our prayers becomes a response to God.

We pray because God made us.

We pray because He has shown Himself to us in Jesus.

We pray because of His great promises to us.

It may seem obvious, but we pray because of who God is and what he has done!

This rich theology of prayer seeps into every part of Prayerfulness. At the same time, it is filled with practical advice built on these biblical foundations. One of the most helpful parts is all the written prayers included in the book. Some are encouraged responses after challenging paragraphs, others are examples from various Christians in the past. Many, however, are Adam’s own prayers, filled with years of wisdom and reflection. Writing prayers, especially ones based on the Bible, is something he encourages repeatedly. It’s this practical wisdom that makes this a great book on prayer for anyone at any level.

Perhaps, one of the weaknesses of the book is its repetition. Reading through the book, you’ll notice some ideas and passages explained several times as they are applied in various ways. Personally, however, I found this a great strength. Instead of encouraging a quick read-through, it slowed me down. I took in each section, one by one, almost like a devotional. The format lends itself to reflection and meditation on the goodness of God and the wonder of prayer. If you find prayer difficult, as I so often have, I commend this book to you. It is the kind of book that delivers on its promise: cultivating a life of Prayerfulness.

– Jesse den Butter