Desiring
to learn what the Bible teaches us about prayer, I selected Anne Graham Lotz’ newest
book The Daniel Prayer. Unfortunately, after
reading this book, I cannot recommend it because it’s off base theologically.
One
of the first things Anne should have noted was the importance of not
taking Scripture out of context. But it
wasn’t until page 181 that she notes the “danger of taking God’s Word out of
context and manipulating it so that it seems to speak personally and
specifically.” But at this point in the
book, she has already taken Scripture out of context and read into it and
misapplied it many times, rather than reading what it says in context.
One
of the phrases Anne uses throughout this is “prayer which moves Heaven.”
She uses it a lot. It seemed like
she was substituting Heaven for God the Father.
Heaven isn’t moved, but God may be moved by our prayers.
Many
times in this book Anne does eisegesis;
she reads into the Scripture based on her own thoughts and ideas as opposed to exegesis interpreting the Scripture based on
what it says in context.
Page 49 – “God reassured me from 1 John 2:27 that I
had received an anointing from Him, so I was not to worry.”
Page 54 – “Noah claimed God’s promise of salvation by doing everything exactly
as God said.” Noah believed and obeyed
God.
Page
58 – Anne tells about her daughter Rachel-Ruth calling her about the 276
Nigerian girls who had been kidnapped by Boko Haram. She found it significant that in Acts 27:37,
the number of people on board Paul’s ship was 276. “And we will pray until all 276 are safely
home, either with their parents in Nigeria, or with their Heavenly Father.” Feeling prompted to pray by a Scripture verse
is fine, but taking that verse out of context is not good.
Page
61 – Talking about 2 Chronicle 7:13-15, “If a promise could be worn out from
use, this one might be tattered beyond recognition. But promises cannot be worn out. They are just as valid today as when they
were first issued.” This verse pertains
to the nation of Israel, not the United States of America. It is good when a believer humbles themselves
and repents and but it’s not good to take a verse context and misapply it.
Page
70 – Anne speculates about the time when Jesus took three of his disciples,
Peter, James and John, and was transfigured in their presence. “The lesson God drove home to me was
this: Had Jesus invited all twelve of
His disciples to draw aside with Him for a time of private prayer? Did only three of them accept His
invitation? Did the other nine give
excuses…?” Anne is reading into to
Scripture. None of the Gospels indicate
that Jesus invited all twelve of the disciples.
Page
88 – Anne talks about the time she was speaking to the “United Nations General Assembly and presented the Gospel as the only
way to have genuine, permanent world peace.”
The Gospel message is not a way to achieve world peace. The Gospel message is for individuals, calling
for sinners to repent of their sins, believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and His
atoning death on the cross which paid the penalty in full for their sins so
that they could be forgiven. The Gospel
message is for sinners to have peace with God the Father through Jesus Christ
the Son.
Page
110 – “Ask Him (God) to give you experiences, as He did Daniel, that will help
to build your confidence in Him.” Is
that scriptural? Or should we instead
read God’s Word and believe it and take God as His Word?
Page
125 – Anne references a book by Charles Finney and talks about preparing your
heart for revival. She encourages
believers to examine themselves for sin and shares a list of areas to look at from
Finney’s book. Isn’t looking at our sin
and repenting a good thing? Yes it can
be, yet Charles Finney was not the most sound theologically. He denied our moral depravity and sin
nature. He also denied God’s sovereignty
in salvation. His influence is seen
today in the seeker-sensitive movement.
There
were a couple (page 155 and 160) of times that Anne used Scripture verses and
called them prayer, when in fact they were people talking to a Person who was there
with them (the Lord Jesus Christ or an Old Testament appearance of the Lord).
Extra-biblical
reference – On page 170, Ann shares from Jewish history about Honi who prayed
for rain during a severe drought in Jerusalem.
This prayer is not scriptural and it certainly does not seem humble, but
instead is commanding the Lord.
On
page 253, Anne is encouraging readers to pray The Daniel Payer. “Could it be that God wants to reassure you…and
this book is God’s message to you. God
has heard your prayer. Heaven has been
move and nations are being changed, one person at a time.” Wow…that is a pretty bold for Anne to speak
for God.
There
are other examples I could list, but I think you get the picture. Don’t take Scripture of out context. Don’t take a promise that God made to an
individual or nation and try to make it your own. You may be encouraged or strengthened in your
faith and trust in God based on Scripture, but don’t twist it or take it out of
context.
Based
on the above examples, and many more that I left out, I do not recommend The
Daniel Prayer by Anne Graham Lotz.
I
would like to thank BookLook and Zondervan Publishers for the opportunity to
read The Daniel Prayer in exchange for an honest review. I was under no obligation to give a favorable
review.
