It’s one thing to write about something based on theories or concepts. It’s another thing entirely to write about something based on one’s own experience. The principles are real-world tested, but it also means the author is more vulnerable to criticism because what’s written is so much more personal.

Kimanzi Constable boldly takes exactly that risk in Are You Living or Existing? Kimanzi does an excellent job of presenting his journey and distilling principles from it that will work for many people who desire a similar life change.

It was a good book, but to be honest, not what I would consider a “great” book, and there are two main reasons for that.

1) At a surface level, it needs an extra proofread. I read it once, and without looking for them I found several typos. Speaking as an author myself, it’s easy to miss some of them, even on several re-reads, but I would say at least one more editor who is skilled in catching grammar and punctuation errors could have resolved this problem. This doesn’t affect the quality of the content, but it is distracting.

2) Kimanzi starts with an idea that I disagree with on a fundamental level. Now, in fairness, this could be a matter of semantics and if we talked through it, we may find we are in agreement. Specifically, changing the word “happy” to “joyful” might be sufficient. That said, we haven’t had that conversation, so what I have to go on is the written word. He says, “What I’m talking about is the fact that God means for us to be happy to live happy lives.” I strongly disagree. I believe God wants to develop our character, grow us into the likeness of His Son, and have a deep, personal relationship with us. The byproduct of that may be happiness, but it’s not His purpose or goal. Sometimes it will involve suffering, challenges, and difficulty. If our focus is on being happy as God’s purpose for us, then when we are not we may question Him, and that’s not a road I want to go down.

Having said that, please don’t think that I dislike Are You Living or Existing? or that I would not recommend it. Kimanzi has some excellent principles that he offers, and no one can legitimately argue that this has worked for him. Honestly, anyone who hasn’t accomplished at least as much as he has needs to think very carefully before attempting to invalidate what he says (and I have seen people try).

I would suggest to those who choose to read this book to think carefully about something that’s not really focused on in the book, but which may be helpful. Kimanzi presents these as a series of nine steps, and that’s as good a metaphor as any. However, don’t think you can finish one step and then move on to the next one. As with a staircase, each step builds on the others, and each step continues. Once you’ve done Step 1 and are ready to move on to Step 2, you still have to keep doing Step 1. And so on.

Kimanzi Constable has done an admirable job changing his life from one of just existing to really living, and I expect Are You Living or Existing? to help many people do the same.

If you order between now and May 19, 2013 you can receive over $100 in goodies if you email/forward your receipt to sales@talesofwork.com.

Disclaimer: I received a review copy of this book at no charge, but all opinions are my own.

Does the title surprise you? It’s true. The simple act of prayer does not work. The mere saying of the words that constitute a prayer will get you a grand total of nothing. You may believe in “the power of prayer,” but that belief is misplaced.

Even beyond that, if I pray to my cat for a stronger marriage, at best I’ll get a blank stare. (Probably I’ll just be ignored.) If I pray to my friend for a new job, it won’t work. If I pray to my desk for peace and joy, same result.

So what’s the point of praying? Simple: Prayer doesn’t work, but the God who hears them does.

What matters is the One we pray to. The power is not in the prayer, it’s in God. The power is not in the words, it’s in the Word. When I pray, the one I’m talking to had better have the power, ability, and desire to hear me and respond (not necessarily with a “yes” but in the way that’s best for me). Otherwise, there’s no point.

If you pray but the object of your prayers has no power, then you’re still on your own. If there’s no one listening at all, it’s futile, saying words only you will hear.

As I write this, my mom is in the hospital. She’s been there for almost two weeks now, dealing with several problems. She’s in the Critical Care Unit right now, heavily sedated (she had been more alert and aware, but she was trying to bite the ventilator tube so they had to re-sedate her). She’s got a touch of pneumonia (at least) and a staph infection, both of which they need to get under control so they can do a heart catheterization procedure. My dad and my aunt are with her; meanwhile I’m 1,800 miles away. At the time it’s released, I’m in Branson, MO with my family, because there is a very good chance she’s not going to get better.

This is already not easy, but if I wasn’t absolutely convinced (not blindly but based on experience and sound evidence) that there is a God, that He loves me, that He hears my prayers, and that He is able to answer my prayers, I would be a basket-case right now. I love my friends and family, and I appreciate their love and support, but honestly, if that’s all I had, that’s just not enough. Effectively, they are just another version of me—good intentioned, desiring to help, but ultimately mostly powerless. I need Him.

So do you. Whatever struggles and challenges you may be facing or will face, you don’t need prayer, you need Him. Prayer by itself is nothing. The words themselves have no power, and they can’t connect you to a source of power and love bigger than yourself, outside yourself. But you are a child of God. Your identity in Him—your Supernatural Kingdom Identity—is one who has been chosen by God, loved and adopted into His family. And as a result, you have an incredibly loving Father who does hear and answer.

So what you have is more than prayer, more than just empty words. It is prayer to God, through Jesus Christ. In that case, prayer is just the way you talk to God and tell Him what’s on your heart. It’s how you learn to be in His presence—and from that time with Him comes the peace, love, comfort, compassion, grace, mercy, wisdom or whatever else you need.

Prayer doesn’t work, but the God who answers them does.

Question: When you prayer, who is the object of your prayer—the one you are praying to? Does it matter to you, or is the act itself enough? Talk about it in the comments below, or on our Facebook page.

The Mark Twain Riverboat is another Opening Day attraction. A look at early concept drawing of Disneyland shows that Walt always wanted something like this in his park. There is quite a bit of history associated with this ship, and for that, I encourage you to check out its entry in the Disneyland Encyclopedia. 

A trip on the Mark Twain is a leisurely 12- to 15-minute cruise around the Rivers of America. Along the way, the narrator points out interesting sights along both coasts. Much of the narration that relates to the operation of the ship itself is a pretty good historical representation.

Part of that narration is the leadsman sounding of the depth markers. On Mississippi riverboats in the mid-1800’s the leadsman’s job was to monitor the depth of the water to keep the ship from running aground. He had to regularly check it and call out the depth (“Mark 3”, “Half Twain”, “Mark Twain”, etc.) “Mark Twain” is the depth they wanted to hear, because that meant the water was two (or “twain”) fathoms deep, safe for riverboats.

If the leadsman didn’t do his job—or if the captain didn’t listen to him—the ship would run aground. He had to keep an eye out to make sure they stayed in the proper depth. Otherwise, the whole ship was in trouble.

We need to do the same thing in our spiritual journeys. Do regular check-ups of our spiritual health to make sure we’re not drifting into unsafe waters. Remember, David said in the Psalms,

“Search me, God, and know my heart;
test me and know my anxious thoughts.
”See if there is any offensive way in me,
and lead me in the way everlasting.”

He’s asking God to check the depth markings in his life.

The great preacher Charles Spurgeon offered six “depth markers” (though he didn’t call them that) we can use to check our spiritual health.

1. Conviction of sin;
2. Simple faith in Christ;
3. Unfeigned repentance from sin;
4. Real change of life;
5. True prayer;
6. A willingness to obey the Lord’s commandments.

How would you say you’re doing in each area? You don’t have to be perfect in any or all of them. That’s not the point. The question is, are you growing? Are you making progress? Is your “depth” in each area more than it was last month, last year, or 5 years ago? The deeper each one is, the safer spiritual water you’re in.

Now, if the Mark Twain’s crew discovers they’re venturing into shallow waters, what would they do? Take some bearings, figure out where they are and where the deeper water is, and head for it. You can do the same. If one or more of these six depth markers are too shallow, stop. Figure out where you are (and get a trusted friend, pastor, or coach to help you if you need it) and what you need to change to get into the deeper water, then intentionally move that direction.

Question: How is your depth in each of these six areas? What is the one area you need to focus on the most, and what is one thing you can do (or stop doing) in that area? Talk about it in the comments below, or on our Facebook page.