{Praying with the Grain}

Pablo Martinez is both a medical doctor and a psychiatrist. He has taught the Bible in Europe as well as North and South America. He currently has a private practice in Barcelona. He has studied the human mind and different personalities to write his newest book Praying with the Grain. It is about how your personality affects the way you pray. That is exactly what attracted me to this book. My personality type is about equal for introvert and extrovert. I am shy around new people, but tend to open up (more than I probably should) around family and friends.

Dr. Martinez goes into great detail about each personality type as well as the temperament of each. I appreciated the way he wrote this book. It was written for the everyday person to be able to read and understand. Basically, it wouldn't take a genius to read it and comprehend what he is trying to say. I found out a lot about my own prayer life. I find it hard to pray in large groups because I have introvert tendencies in crowds. But, in intimate settings (like at home with my husband and children) I can open up and speak freely.

I also learned that my principal psychological function is feeling. There are four of them: thought, feeling, sensation, and intuition. I tend to pray with feeling. Whatever I am feeling at the time of prayer is exactly what I pray. If I am hurt, I pray for healing. If I am angry, I pray for peace. If I am happy, I thank God for all that I have. Dr. Martinez suggests that we pray with all four. He also suggests that if we have a tendency to be depressed we have a prayer partner. Depressed people don't like to be alone (for the most part). Having someone there to pray with helps alleviate some of the anxious feelings of loneliness.

In this book, Dr. Martinez will help you understand your personality type and guide you through the best way to pray that will allow you to understand your own spiritual path. I really enjoyed reading Praying with the Grain and it has helped me to better understand the reason I pray the way that I do. Here is a list of the chapters:
1. Different Prayers for Different People
2. Overcoming Difficulties
3. The Therapeutic Value of Prayer
4. Prayer: Psychological Illusion?
5. Are All Prayers Alike?

Be sure to check this book out. You will gain so much knowledge about prayer and how our personalities impact the way we pray and what we pray for. It was very easy to understand as well.


Blessings,


Kristy

*I was given this book in exchange for my personal review. All opinions expressed here are solely my own.*