Seven Thoughts Every Christian Ought to Think Every Day (Jim Scott Orrick)

When the Holy Spirit gives new life to a person, he fundamentally changes how that person thinks and what he thinks. The Spirit changes him into a person with the capacity to live in communion with God. At the same time, the Spirit creates in us a yearning to enjoy God’s presence through prayer. But how do we pray? When the disciples asked Jesus this question, he responded by giving them a model prayer to use as a guide to help them pray. This model prayer is commonly called The Lord’s Prayer. The Lord’s Prayer is extremely brief, but it is a perfect summary of what a Christian ought to think and pray every day.

In Seven Thoughts Every Christian Ought to Think Every Day, Jim Scott Orrick examines the seven thoughts that lead Christians to pray guided by the model prayer. You might think of this book as a prequel to the Lord’s Prayer. Without the underlying thoughts of a renewed nature, simply repeating the Lord’s Prayer becomes an instance of the empty, meaningless prayers that Jesus was teaching us to avoid. Orrick explores the seven thoughts that propel a Christian into a life of meaningful communion with God through prayer. These are seven thoughts every Christian ought to think every day, and they lay a foundation for a life of prayer.

Perhaps the greatest compliment I can pay an author is to read his book to my wife and my five children, ages eleven to seventeen. This book on prayer, written by Dr. Jim Orrick, is not the first book by him that I have read to my family. That speaks to my high regard for him and his ministry. This book on kingdom prayer is no exception. This book, so well organized as to read as a personal or family devotion, is not the musings of a young Christian minister who is overly ambitious to get himself published. Actually, it’s the product—indeed, the fruit—of a man who has faithfully and as deeply as any man I know availed himself to the ordinary means of grace for five-plus decades. There is no one I know in the Christian world who has memorized more Scripture, hymns, catechisms, poems, and the like, which have all greatly benefited his own prayer life. This is the work of a man who knows the true God. But the genius of Orrick’s work is that he can take the deepest and most profound insights that would edify the most mature of Christians and communicate those very truths in such a way that a young Christian, even one who is not yet a Christian, could understand. In other words, this book is for everyone.

– Brian Payne, Professor of Christian theology and expository preaching at Boyce College

Searching for great resources to disciple new believers can be like Goldilocks tasting porridge. Too difficult, and it frustrates; too fluffy, and it misleads. Jim Orrick has that much sought-after gift of taking deep truths and bringing the tray to the common man. When a book can be handed to an unbeliever for evangelism, read through with a new believer to disciple, worked through with the family for worship, and also delight the soul of the seasoned in Christ, it is a helpful book.

– Josh Lagrange, Church planter

As Christians, we are a naturally sinful and forgetful people who consistently need to be reminded of the power of prayer. Following the outline of the Lord’s Prayer, Jim Orrick has written a profound yet practical resource detailing seven distinct ways in which prayer sanctifies the Christian on a daily basis. Seven Thoughts Every Christian Ought to Think Every Day encouraged me to depend even more fully on my Father’s sustaining grace in my life and ministry, and for that I am deeply thankful.

– James H. Winfrey, Missionary mobilizer, Reaching & Teaching

Christian prayer should not feel like a performance marked by a sense of pressure and failure. Instead, it’s an open invitation to speak with our heavenly Father. With his own fatherly wisdom, Jim Orrick helps us see how God gently uses prayer to change us. The book is flavored with pithy proverbs, colorful stories, and earthy illustrations that help the truth take root in our hearts. Over and over, I was refreshed and encouraged by Orrick’s many insights gleaned from decades of walking closely with God.

– David Gundersen, Pastor, BridgePoint Bible Church