A Praying Life: Connecting With God in a Distracting World

Headline: Draw closer to God in the ordinary moments of your day.

Through lyrical anecdotes, Southern wit, and scriptural reflection, Pastor Thomas Steagald offers this sprawling oak of a work, rooted deeply in a life of prayer. This sepia-toned memoir takes you on Steagald's daily pastoral rounds from pre-dawn rising to a rest found only in the assurance of Christ's mercy. In between is a richly- textured account of little moments seized for consecration - prayers in the shower, coffee at Hardee's, choir practice and the surprises that test our perception of what in our lives is God's business. "It is our faith, and by faith I really mean trust, that no person, no situation, no circumstance exists without Him, or devoid of Him, or apart from His grace." So it is that Steagald dismantles the strict compartments of our ordinary" lives and invites us to offer our entire beings to Christ.

Thomas R. Steagald is pastor of First United Methodist Church in Stanley, NC. His work has appeared in numerous publications including Circuit Rider, Preaching, and The Abingdon Preaching Annual. He is the author of two other books, "Devotionally Yours, Philippians" and "The Birth That Changed by Life." In "Praying for Dear Life," he draws on decades of his pastoral work and personal study. He lives with his wife Jo in Gastonia, NC.<br /><br />Paul Miller is director of seeJesus.net, an organization that develops interactive Bible studies for small groups. He is the author of Love Walked Among Us (NavPress), The PrayerLife Study, The Person of Jesus, an interactive study of the wonder of Jesus and his love. He also travels widely and teaches Jesus Weekends, Person of Jesus seminars, and PrayerLife seminars. Paul and his wife, Jill, have six children and live near Philadelphia.