Sheets attempted a worthy goal in this book. The issues of prayer and spiritual warfare are “Required Study 101” to the church planter. The book was not from the student’s non-charismatic theological point of view in many regards. On the other hand, this book is unique in the ideas presented and in the ways those ideas are explained. Readers may certainly collect helpful concepts in each chapter. For example, in chapter 3 Christians were described as those who act on behalf of God as His appointed representatives.
Sheets explained that God does not automatically release His blessings if believers fail to engage Him for those blessings on behalf of themselves or others. Negative events may occur needlessly if Christians refrain from appropriate intercession. Likewise, the believer(s) should pray for the removal of obstacles to God’s blessings and divine accomplishments. For instance, the biblical prophets experienced great movements of God through engaging God and prayer. These movements, miracles and divine appointments were direct responses—in many cases—to prayer. Believers fail to receive great things from God when they exalt themselves, their plans, or human philosophies. Thus, prayer and spiritual engagement are the believer’s avenues for releasing God’s blessing.
According to Sheets, Satan desires to oppose God’s activity. Protection from Satan and his forces are not automatic. Christians are to be alert and actively resist Satan’s attempts to thwart God’s purpose and to harm believers. The believer is also responsible to warn and pray against the attacks of Satan.
The great hole in Sheets approach was his failure to engage the example of Jesus Christ in the Garden as He prayed, “Thy will be done.” Sheets had little to write about the mystery of God’s plan and sovereignty. Sheets wrote little to interface the sovereignty of God and the responsibility of all believers to intercede in prayer. Similarly, Sheets does not speak of praying in Jesus’ name as the practice of praying in the will of God. The New Testament reads, “And this is the confidence that we have toward him, that if we ask anything according to his will he hears us” (1 John 5:14). Without addressing this issue, new believers may become ill equipped to face the disappointments sometimes faced in prayer.
Sheets used a biblical word study approach to presenting his theology of prayer. Sheets was creative and cleaver in building his etymological basis for a theology of prayer. However, the reader still may ask, “Is that really what the original author intended?” Sheets case did seem like linguistic gymnastics. Nevertheless, many of the principles regarding prayer remained intact.
Sheets wrote the book in a conversational, sermonic tone. He included personal anecdotes and humor. Thus, the book was not meant to be an academic treatise. At points the quality of writing missed the mark. Nevertheless, Sheets conveyed his personal views on prayer. A grounded believer would be blessed and challenged to engage with the concepts written in this book. Read along with a quality book emphasizing the sovereignty of God, this book would serve as a counterbalance. Chapter nine of A.W. Pink’s work The Sovereignty of God is called God’s Sovereignty and Prayer. Pairing Sheets concepts with Pink’s would provide two sides of the coin. Overall, Sheets book is informative and helpful to church planters.
