Author: Kevin Johnson
Labels: DVPR | Prayer
Publisher: Bethany House
Publication Date: June 15, 2013
Recommended To: 12yrs--Adult
Contains: N/A
Buy It: Amazon | Kindle
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Blurb From Goodreads: Pray the Scriptures is a 40-day prayer experience for readers hoping to energize their prayer life and draw closer to God through his very word. Using familiar passages of Scripture, the author guides the reader in the process of selecting and praying back to God the words of the text as they apply to the reader's life and circumstances. "Prayer starter" phrases jump-start the participant's practice of writing and speaking Scripture prayers.
Each day's entry includes an introductory devotional, a Scripture text, and concluding thoughts and questions for reflection, discussion, and further prayer.
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When I first saw this book, I wasn't one hundred percent sure if I wanted to give it a shot or not. I wasn't really sure if it was going to be one of those stilted, teach-you-how-to-pray books, or if it would end up being worth my while. In my opinion, it ended up being pretty darn good.
Each "chapter" is one day, with forty chapters in all to cover the forty days this book is meant to cover. Each chapter starts off with a brief introduction to the passage that it covers and gets you focusing on the gist of it. I was kind of torn between the passage part of it. The passages are printed right in the book, which I like for convenience sake, especially if you're traveling and just want a short devotional type book to take along with you. On the other hand, the passages were printed in several different versions, including ESV, GW, MSG, NCV, NIV, NKJV, and NLT. I understand why the Johnson did it this way--some of these different versions elaborate more or give more vivid detail. But the downside to this is the fact that I don't necessarily agree with every one of these translations, and not all of them are translated literally. If you're someone who has a problem with one or more of these translations, you may want to consider that before you pick up this book. Of course, there's nothing stopping you from looking up the passages in the version you prefer and comparing them, which is what I plan to do.
After each passage, there are a few words or half a sentence prompts to get you started thinking and praying on these Scripture passages. I thought the prompts were good--just enough to get you going, but not too much to the point where it would manipulate the direction of your own thinking one way or another. At the end of each chapter, there are three discussion type questions that further help you reflect on what you've read and prayed over during that chapter. Overall I think this is a pretty good prayer devotional.
I received a free copy of this book from the publisher for this review. These opinions are my own; I was not required to write a positive review, nor was I compensated for this review.
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