A SIMPLE TO USE PRAYER-POINTS' MANUAL

Book title: CLASPED HANDS: 100 Daily Prayer Verses with 100's of Prayer Points-Vol. 1
Pages: 117
Publisher: House of Favor Publishing, 2008
Author: Olukayode Babalola, Pastor and International Litigation Attorney

Reviewer: Laolu Akande, Pastor and Renowned International Journalist

GOD'S word is very heavy on passion and fervency in the arena of prayer. That is why James did not mince words that a fervent prayer is effectual and that it avails much!

Pastor Olukayode Babalola caught this vision very early in his Christian walk. As coworkers in the vineyard, one has seen this and was therefore not taken by surprise when he became a Pastor that he launched with boldness into the prayer ministry.

There is something in it that he has learnt and now is keen that others too may discover. This explains, in my view, the publication of Clasped Hands.

THE BOOK IS DIVIDED into 100 easy-to-read and follow parts and in 117 pages also includes a listing of Bible references used to develop prayer points.

This book is a blessing mainly to those who are curious about the idea of prayer and yet have not found the time to dig deep, exploring the Bible and the several many commentaries that have becomes so widespread in our days-glory to God! But then those who get a copy will be doing themselves a great good because the manual is a very useful and intoxicating appetizer that will provoke in them the desire to want more!

Why did I say that?  Babalola's book does not enter into the arena of long prose-not that such does not have its well deserved place, but by limiting this book to simple prayer points, the reader is immediately invited to a free flow of the word hooked up with the scriptures. On top of the prayer points, the book requests the reader to "Now pray and say", the invitation to learning how to develop bible based praying strategy. I don't know that many people won't end up hooked to prayers after experiencing this book!

Every set of prayer points are loaded up at the top of the page with a relevant, often times, tailor-made bible verse, titled, IT IS WRITTEN . This is the clincher: Many new and at times, older Christians still don't understand that the kind of prayer that goes the distance is that which is based on the "sword of the spirit," which is the word of God. When a Christian has a bible verse for a prayer and then adds fervency and passion to the pursuit of that prayer, she/he simply becomes a heavyweight lifter in the spiritual warfare which is what prayer is all about!

For example, prayer point 95 is titled God is Mindful of Me based on Matthew 6:30 which says "Wherefore, if God so clothe the grass of the field, which today is and tomorrow is cast into the oven, shall he not much more clothe you, O Ye of little faith? The author then lines up 7 very keen prayer points which derive their spiritual energy from that scripture including one that says "with you (God) in control of my life, I know that my tomorrow is secure and all right." 

The very confession of the bible verse and the restatement of the prayer points derived therefrom is a confession of faith, and even more so a declaration of truth, immutable and nonnegotiable, with raw potentials to make the difference in people's daily life and walk with the Lord! For me this is a great way to put action behind our faith, because saying it right, saying it well and saying it often leads to believing it and then experiencing it!

And to make the emphasis on faith unmistakable, Pastor Babalola has dedicated this important faith manual to the loving memory of his mother "who set my feet on the pathway of faith." This manual therefore a redoubtable call to the exercise of faith backed by the written down word of God in the arena of prayer!

Remember that Jesus, the Lord himself fired back to the devil three times with IT IS WRITTEN ! He therefore modeled for us the process of defeating the devil and his agents in the place of Bible based praying.

Lastly, the author brings insight into it all to lay the prayer in context and set a conducive atmosphere and perspective into place.

On page 16 and prayer point 16 titled Faith that Receives from God , as is the case on all the pages, Pastor Babalola shares his deep insight ahead of the prayer points, 4 points in this case. He said "faith is like the conveyor belt that delivers our goods to us. Without faith, a link is missing in the delivery chain of our blessing from God."

He used the Bible verse, Hebrews 11:6 to great effect here. That insight helps the reader to grasp knowledge and understanding. Like a teacher, he applies figurative illustration to create a picture in the mind of the reader that faith is critical in prayers so that the book is not just about prayer points but also gives some aid to the reader to building the principal thing wisdom, knowledge and understanding before he/she starts to pray!

These are some of the reasons why I told Pastor Babalola even before he decided to publish these prayers points, which started as an email series that they are "very inspiring."

Short of some typos here and there, like on page 7 where the insight meant to say God infuses us but printed infuse us , this book recommends itself to all Christians and I agree with Dr. Nimi Wariboko , RCCG Research Coordinator in North America who said in the foreword having gone through all the prayers "I found them useful, encouraging and joyful."

My bet is that anyone who takes the time to do likewise will return a similar testimony, or if you like a similar verdict, if you want to be lawyerly!