Finding The Heart's True Home Analysis

In all three parts of the book, Prayer: Finding the Heart’s True Home, Richard Foster addresses seven different types of prayer in each section. The first kind of prayer that Foster addresses in part one is the Simple Prayer. The Simple Prayer is essentially exactly what the name says it is. Foster calls it the most basic and primary form of prayers. He also says that is the most common form of prayer found in the Bible. The Simple Prayer is where we come before the Father with our sins and mess-ups and just talk to Him. Foster summarized the Simple Prayer brilliantly when he said, “In a very real sense we are the focus of Simple Prayer. Our needs, our wants, our concerns dominate our prayer experience.” The next prayer that Foster discusses is the Prayer of the Forsaken. The Prayer of the Forsaken happens when someone feels like God is

Foster begins the chapter by explaining an important Greek word, Penthos. This word means tears or a broken heart. The Prayer of Tears is the emotional side of prayer. People realize that they and the world have sinned, and they repent their sins to God. This prayer is where people are heartbroken after realizing the amount of sin in their lives and in the world. Many times, tears are viewed as a sign of sadness, but Foster takes the opposite approach. He says that tears are a present people should search for, because those tears are their way of giving God permission to show them the sin in their lives. The climax of the Prayer of Tears is the realization that all people are sinners. All have fallen short of the glory of God. Foster says it magnificently, “We are not sinners because we commit sinful acts; rather, we commit sinful acts because we are sinners.” After the realization that all people are sinners, then comes the repentance. People must ask God for forgiveness; they must confess their sins; they receive God’s forgiveness, and they are to obey His