There is a difference between real faith in God and mere religion. There is a kind of religion that is lifeless and is the bitter enemy of true faith. Think of Dietrich Bonhoeffers prophetic attempts to waken the sleeping German church, often unwitting allies of Hitler and the Third Reich. Or of William Wilberforces heroic efforts to rouse his complacent Christian countrymen to stand against the monstrous evil of the slave trade. Bonhoeffer and Wilberforce stood against the evil of their timesan evil often repackaged in religious-sounding language.
Eric Metaxass electrifying messagedelivered before the president and dozens of national leaders at the Sixtieth Annual National Prayer Breakfastcalls readers to follow in the steps of Wilberforce and Bonhoeffer, men who lived their faith and swam against the mainstream, instead of drifting along with it. Metaxas makes it clear that phony religiosity offends God himselfand that real prayer is only possible with a living faith in a living God. And that kind of faith can transform the world. No pressure.
