Should everyone pray the same way? Will one way to pray be equally effective for all people? Dr. Pablo Martinez, in his book PRAYING WITH THE GRAIN, suggests that the answer is no. Everyone is different, and everyone operates from their own unique combination of personality traits. Therefore, what works for one person in their prayer time with God may not work for another. The point of praying, after all, is to connect with God, but in order to be successful in making the connection, we need to pray in a way that nurtures that connection most according to our personality type.
Dr. Martinez presents several interesting findings about personality type affecting prayer, such as the difficulty extroverts have with developing a regular prayer time by themselves because of the isolation, or how introverts value that isolated time alone with God. The book explores the different aspects of personality and gives tips on what prayer practices people should take according to their personality.
I had a couple of drawbacks with the book. First, I think it’s important that people develop different ways to pray, but I don’t think anyone should reject a way of praying simply because it’s uncomfortable. The book didn’t really make that suggestion, but I felt it needed mentioning. Second, the author talks about the ideal personality is balanced. Though it would be ideal to be balanced between extroversion and introversion, etc., readers may get the impression that they need to work on changing their personality, as if God didn’t design them with the personality traits they have.
Overall, the book is an interesting look at how to be more intentional about our prayer time with God, and it’s a good read for anyone wanting to learn more about ways they can pray.
I received this book for free for review from Kregel Books, and the opinions contained in this review are completely my own
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