Pete Greig | Janet Sketchley

Red Moon Rising cover art. Image: blackk-silhouetted people facing a red sky with a red moon in the top right. A darker circle beneath with text about foreward, revision, update information.

Red Moon Rising and Dirty Glory, by Pete Greig (with Dave Roberts for Red Moon Rising)

Q: What happens when a group of Christians decide to pray 24-7 for a short time, maybe a month or two?

A: It starts a movement that’s still going strong 25+ years later.

Red Moon Rising: Rediscover the Power of Prayer chronicles the 24-7 Prayer movement’s first five years, and Dirty Glory: Go Where Your Best Prayers Take You covers the next five and beyond.

This is clearly a story of what God did—through obedient people, to be sure, but there’s no way a group of humans could build and sustain an international, interdenominational movement like this. Nor could humans arrange the more dramatic experiences these books relate.

Book cover image: folded hands drawn in black, raised in silhouette against a red moon against a blue background. Text: Dirty Glory, Go Where Your Best Prayers Take You. Pete Greig.

They began in prayer. Then they found themselves on mission in the strangest places, still praying but also serving and working for justice. This is an interdenominational movement that sees Christians from widely different backgrounds and denominational preferences serving and worshipping side by side for the glory of God. Looks like the Body of Christ to me.

If you want to be encouraged, even excited, in your faith, or if you’re just curious what this international 24-7 Prayer movement is all about, I highly recommend both of these books. Then, check out the 24-7 Prayer International website (or possible your country has one) for more details and resources.

The books read like novels, and if you have the chance to catch them in audiobook format the author’s energetic delivery adds to the impact. That’s what I did, but now I want to go back and read in print or digital so I can highlight the most impactful bits and also linger over some of the well-turned phrases.

The story doesn’t finish with the books. Have a listen to Pete Greig’s 25^th anniversary message in 2024. As it happens, I’m posting this review on September 5, 2025—the 26^th anniversary of 24-7 Prayer’s quiet beginnings.

Pete Greig’s biography on the 24-7 Prayer International website describes him as “a best-selling author, pastor and bewildered instigator of the 24-7 Prayer movement which has reached more than half the nations on earth.” For more about him, visit dirtyglory.org. For more about the 24-7 Prayer Movement or for prayer resources, visit 24-7prayer.com.

[Review copies from the public library via the Hoopla app.]

How to Hear God: a simple guide for normal people, by Pete Greig (Zondervan Reflective, 2022)

Can humans today hear from the God of the Bible? Not necessarily audibly, but can we know what He’s saying to us? If you’re curious, I highly recommend this book as an excellent, inspiring resource.

You can tell from the subtitle that it’s not a dry theological work. Instead, it’s a refreshing, accessible, and practical look at various ways Christians can “hear” God (and how to discern A: is it God, and B: am I hearing clearly?).

The key Scriptural passage acting as a framework for the book is the two travellers on the Emmaus Road from Luke 24, where the risen Christ walks with them and teaches them. And the emphasis is on hearing as a natural part of a conversational relationship with God.

While acknowledging Jesus as the Living Word, the book also addresses hearing God’s external word through the Bible, prayer, and prophecy, and His internal word in our spirits, in dreams, and in community, creation, and culture.

Chapters include examples from the Bible, personal experience, quotations from other works on the subject, and mini bio features of Christians both contemporary and historical.

Pete Greig is an excellent speaker, and by narrating his own book in audio form he makes it feel like hearers are listening to him on a podcast or at a conference. Now I want to buy a print copy to study in more depth. The questions for individual and group discussion will be helpful, as will the recommendations for further reading.

The author is also one of the founders of the 24/7 Prayer movement, which brings us, among other resources, the Lectio365 app and the Inner Room prayer app. You can read his bio at dirtyglory.org or at 24-7prayer.com/team/pete-greig.

[Review copy from the public library—but it’s on my to-buy list!]

Janet Sketchley

Writing Christian Mysteries & Suspense

Tag Archives: Pete Greig

Review: How to Hear God: a simple guide for normal people, by Pete Greig