With Christ in the School of Prayer

Andrew Murray (1828 - 1917) published over 200 books throughout his lifetime. One classic is With Christ in the School of Prayer. The book is a rather short read in that it is less than two hundrend and forty pages and is divided up into thirty-one chapters. I was unfamiliar with some of Murray's extensive work and was glad to pick up this classic at my local library for only $1.


I enjoyed Murray's exposition on the subject of prayer and fasting as it relates to Matthew 17:19-21. Murray makes the point that "prayer needs fasting for its full and perfect development" [p.98]. I especially liked the author's perspective on prayer and fasting in stating that "Prayer is the one hand in which we grasp the invisible. Fasting is the other hand, in which we let go of the invisible. In nothing is man more closely connected with the world of sense than his need for, and enjoyment of, food. It was the fruit with which man was tempted and fell in Paradise. Jesus was tempted in the wilderness. But he triumphed in fasting" [p.100]. The author makes another statement in that "prayer is the reaching out to God for the unseen. Fasting is letting go of everything that can be seen and touched" [p.101]. Murray uses all texts in the New Testament used by Christ to teach the reader about some timeless truths on prayer. I would recommend this book to any student interested in the study on prayer.