Eli's second proper album (not counting his Christmas collection) finds the singer-songwriter coming into his own, turning in a set of ten well-crafted, melodic folk-pop songs in the vein of such '70s artists as
Jim Croce and
Cat Stevens. Occasionally, his lyrics may be too preachy for secular tastes, but
Things I Prayed For remains one of the freshest CCM releases in the first half of 1998. ~ Rodney Batdorf