I haven't been told to pray in such a forthright manner since my last religious
ed class in Grade 4 primary school but this is no ordinary instruction to pray.
Barry Long's latest book, which is based on a lecture written almost twenty
years ago, takes the rare step of defining prayer and highlighting its relevance to the modern world.

Rather than passing prayer off as a personal meditation or quiet conversation
Long almost offers a safety warning to protect us from the power of prayer,
saying it is the most effective misused and misunderstood force in the world.
Following on form the old adage 'be careful what you wish for' he is quick to
point out that prayer is within all of us, at all times, emanating an invisible and potentially dangerous force. Long suggests that this force is directly influenced in power and direction by our moods and desires.

This is the central theme running throughout the book and it's refreshing in its
simplicity. You'll find it find it within the first few pages of the book, right through the last few, with plenty of supporting words in between. Along the way, Long provides personal accounts, factual stories, and reflective musings and the various uses of prayer and how it can improve our lives and the lives of those around us. Occasionally verging on the religious in its message it remains throughout a book that can be enjoyed by individuals of all religious persuasions including those who feel they have none.

Personally I shy away from books dealing with prayer and religion. However,
Long's simple message that we are constantly unleashing the power of prayer
pierced my cynical armour. Thinking locally and seeing how my moods desires and feelings affect those around me I quickly realised that it wouldn't take too many of us exuding similar forces to act globally.

Nova Holistic Journal Australia

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Barry Long is a shocking teacher. He shocks his spiritual students into facing up to the truth and the lies that exist within ourselves and the human construct weall share in co-creating, that he defines as 'the world'.

His teaching methods are clear, precise and very direct, as is this book, 'A Prayer For Life'. From the moment he opens with - 'We human beings have been praying since time began. Whatever we've been praying for doesn't seem to have done much good.' - Long leads the reader through a powerful and intense argument for the unique originality of the most supreme essence, our divine nature - life itself as opposed to the disaster he sees as the cumulative effects of human nature.

If you are looking for a good book to nestle yourself into on a warm winters
night, don't read this. It's a book only for those who are honest and courageous enough to look at the truth, just as it is... I highly recommend it."

Golden Age Magazine Australia

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'Barry adds an explanatory subtitle to 'A Prayer for Life' - 'the cause and
cure of Terrorism, War and Human Suffering' , so I began to read
with the expectation that in addition to learning about the cause of what
afflicts the world today, I would also learn what part I and anyone else
so inclined could do about it. I thought it was a book about hope.

Instead I was confronted by the rather shocking news that there really
wasn't anything I could do to save the world. At least not that would fix
things for me und for now. This doesn't mean we should ignore Barry's
message. It has several profound truths at its base. One is the truth of
the force of prayer. It is just that we have been praying for the wrong
things. Nor does it mean that there is no hope for the earth (the world
we have created is another story and this is the point to our continued
hope and prayer). Another truth is the truth of love and the role of love
in the newly created world which will come after this one.

I don't know how readers will find this book. It is going to be either
something one embraces, confronting as it is to our current way of living
and values, or it will be something one rejects without reservation. Of
course, as Barry would explain, part of the problem is that it is these
people (generations on generations of them) who form and continue to
form the essential basis of our core yet at the same time unsustainable values and beliefs, which really need to read it and recognize those truths
he is willing to explain.

Read it, even if you don't agree with it. It has some power and relevance
to our lives now and our futures'.

Insight Magazine Australia

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"A singularly visionary and spiritual testimony"

A Prayer For Life by world class spiritual master Barry Long is an informed
and informative investigation into the essence of war, terrorism, human
suffering, and why such horrible things exist in the present-day world. The
force and power of prayer and the virtue of love, as well as the arduous
road to recovery for survivors, are all cogently presented. A singularly
visionary and spiritual testimony, 'A Prayer For Life' is highly recommended
reading for students of spirituality and metaphysics.

MidWest Book Review USA