Window on the World: When We Pray God Works

by Daphne Spraggett, Jill Johnstone

A book that will inform and inspire the whole family, this beautifully presented yet practical book is the ideal accompaniment to Operation World. Stunning photographic visuals complement this A-Z of 100 countries and people groups providing an exciting learning experience and guide for prayer.

Genres: Nonfiction, Christian, Prayer, Geography, School, Childrens, Christian Non Fiction

Hardcover

First published October 1, 2001

Reviews

[Rachel · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book is OK. I like the short glimpses of people groups and countries that we can learn about. My kids have learned a lot about different regions of the world, and mapping the countries has been great for their Geography skills. However the author was often very patronizing and seemed to stress that some of the groups needed missionaries to counter act the other Christian denomination missionaries in the area. I skipped over most of this. I don't feel like that was a good message to send to my children. We used this book as part of our Sonlight Core C and next time I go through this Core with my younger children I will probably substitute it with another book.

[Tina Cook · Rating 5 out of 5]

Oh man, what a wonderful book! When I was homeschooling and teaching geography to my kids, we read this book daily to learn about the different people groups around the world and how to pray specific prayers for them. This book really helps children to travel outside of where they live and gives them a glimpse as through a window of how others live, often so radically different than themselves.

[Joanna Martin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Used this book to pray for countries and people groups each morning through the school year. It is excellent.

[Kara · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book was included in our Sonlight homeschooling curriculum. I really didn't like this book... but my kids LOVED it. They didn't articulate why they loved it. I didn't like it because I found it a very monotonous read and the tone of it felt some what uppity to me.

[Laura (Book Scrounger) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great prayer guide, and a respectful and up-to-date look at many countries and cultures of the world.

[Amie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I first heard about this book when researching homeschooling curriculum. It was heavily used in My Father's World. I never actually used that curriculum, but I still collect books from it when I find them in the wild.

This is a good overview of people groups around the world, if it is a bit dated. I considered looking up groups as I went, to see what's changed in the 20+ years since this was published, but decided against it. It will be a good reference book if my youngest needs to write a report about one of the cultures mentioned.

I was surprised how diverse the book is. For example, Turkey has three sections devoted to people who live there. Several other countries have 2 or more sections about them. I found that refreshing.

I read it cover to cover, but I'd recommend someone use it in their devotion time, praying for groups as the Lord leads, or for research purposes. It's a lot to read straight through.

[Rebecca · Rating 4 out of 5]

We very much enjoyed this book even though it is a bit out of date. I have heard rumors of an update and I do hope it will come out.

[Jillena · Rating 5 out of 5]

Even slightly out of date there is so much good info!

[Emmie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Window on the World is a great snapshot of different countries and people groups all over the world. We absolutely love learning about different people all over the world and learning how God is working and moving in different places. Along with the culture and people groups we also learned about other prominent religions around the world and how those religions differ from Christ-following. This gave us an opportunity to look at how different Christ and His salvation is vs the others that require you to work hard enough or be good enough to earn your salvation.

I appreciate that this book was real and didn't shy away from hard things and explained them in a way that was easy to share with children of all ages. Our family enjoyed reading about and praying for these people together as we learned what God was doing in those places. Even with all my world missions studies there were a few groups I was unfamiliar with and enjoyed learning about. In fact, I want to go visit one of these people groups during my life time if the Lord allows it.

The biggest downside with this book is that it's 20 years old. I would love to see this updated to know how this book has helped people pray and to see what God has done in these people groups since this book was published.

I also struggled with the wording of some of the prayer requests, but that may just me be and my idiosyncrasies. I absolutely recommend this book, I'm just not sure I can give it five stars.

[Phil Whittall · Rating 5 out of 5]

We started this book a while ago and used it a couple of times a week as a family. We'd read one of the two page spreads out loud after dinner and we'd all learn something about a new country or people group. We'd then share out the prayer points together and learn to thank God for our world and ask Him to keep helping all the peoples of the world know and love Him.

Our children (11 & 13) really engaged with the material, found it interesting and so did we. Highly recommended resource for families.

[Elizabeth · Rating 3 out of 5]

A must-have for anyone working with missions groups, especially if teaching children. Many of the world's people groups are covered. Photos, personal stories of children, statistics, interesting facts, and a prayer guide for each group give a fascinating glimpse into different cultures. This would also be a nice resource for the home. The heavy Christian slant with a missions zeal make it a much better choice for a church library than for a public library.

[Greg D · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was instrumental in showing our family places where God potentially wanted us to serve. As a family, we prayed through each of the countries in this book asking God where He wants us to serve. It was through this book we were first introduced to the country of Albania. And it is where our family will be serving in full time ministry.

[Becca Harris · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent resource for parents who want to teach their children about the nations. This prayer guide has pictures, relates to the children, and is easy to read. It's a great way for your family to pray for the nations.

[Jen]

Great book for opening eyes of our children about other cultures and lives of people all around the world!!

[Lisa · Rating 3 out of 5]

For young children, a geographical encyclopedia of mainly non-western countries and their cultures.