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God's Prayer Book
There is no better place in all of Scripture than the Psalms to learn to be with God and see with the eyes of faith the face of the One who longs to form us fully in his image. The psalms often stretch and perplex as they teach, but they open a divine window on prayer. How could it be otherwise? The Psalms are God's prayer book, and they teach us to talk to God in his own language.
Features meditations for more than 75 psalms, arranged in numerical order, Scripture and topical indexes. Each devotional includes the complete text of the Psalm(s) from the New Living Translation, a “devotional window” (brief meditative thoughts and/or background on the Psalm), a prayer route (one or more key phrases or verses from the Psalm, followed by suggested ways to use the Psalm in prayer).
Features meditations for more than 75 psalms, arranged in numerical order, Scripture and topical indexes. Each devotional includes the complete text of the Psalm(s) from the New Living Translation, a “devotional window” (brief meditative thoughts and/or background on the Psalm), a prayer route (one or more key phrases or verses from the Psalm, followed by suggested ways to use the Psalm in prayer).
320 pages, Paperback
First published September 22, 2008
About the author
Ben Patterson
243 books11 followersBen Patterson is campus pastor at Westmont College in Santa Barbara, California. He has served churches in New Jersey and California and was dean of the chapel at Hope College in Michigan before going to Westmont College. He is the author of Deepening Your Conversation with God and is a back-page columnist for Leadership Journal and a contributor to Christianity Today.
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
November 9, 2008
This book will probably occupy a long-term spot beside my bed. There is an introductory chapter that gives some background about prayer, the Psalms, and Jesus' relationship to the Psalms. The author quotes a lot of people including St. Augustine, St. Benedict, Martin Luther, John Calvin, and Peter Kreeft. Next, there are sections on each of 65 of the psalms. For each psalm, first the psalm itself is printed. Following that, one verse is highlighted. Next there are about two pages of reflective material, starting off with a real-life story that the author relates the the psalm and followed by some prayer pointers relating to particular verses.
I've tried praying the Liturgy of the Hours on occassion and while I liked the psalms, I almost found it to be too much of a good thing--or maybe I needed to pray it more so as to become more familiar with the psalms--but in any case, I have not found it to be, at least for now, the way I need to pray the psalms. This book may be.
I've tried praying the Liturgy of the Hours on occassion and while I liked the psalms, I almost found it to be too much of a good thing--or maybe I needed to pray it more so as to become more familiar with the psalms--but in any case, I have not found it to be, at least for now, the way I need to pray the psalms. This book may be.
January 10, 2017
A great introduction to praying scripture and in particular, the psalms.
February 8, 2024
A top-notch devotional commentary on about half the Psalms, with a combination of storytelling, focus on the major emphasis of the psalm, and attention to other key moments in the poem. Based on the very useful New Living Translation.
October 12, 2010
Reading a Psalm can be encouraging and helpful to your spirit. Praying a Psalm can help even more. Jesus prayed from the book of Psalms and we should follow His example.
There are a total of 62 Psalms expounded on in this book. The author writes out the verses of each Psalm for you so you don’t need your Bible to study these particular passages. Each Psalm is followed by a short devotional. These devotions relate to the subjects presented in the verses.
After the devotional the author takes a few verses from the passage and explains their meaning. This explanation helps you see how the verses relate to your everyday life. Using the helpful information given, you are then able to pray those verses over your own difficult situations.
This book is an excellent resource for travelers or someone who only has a few moments for devotions.
I was given this book by christianreviewofbooks.com to review
There are a total of 62 Psalms expounded on in this book. The author writes out the verses of each Psalm for you so you don’t need your Bible to study these particular passages. Each Psalm is followed by a short devotional. These devotions relate to the subjects presented in the verses.
After the devotional the author takes a few verses from the passage and explains their meaning. This explanation helps you see how the verses relate to your everyday life. Using the helpful information given, you are then able to pray those verses over your own difficult situations.
This book is an excellent resource for travelers or someone who only has a few moments for devotions.
I was given this book by christianreviewofbooks.com to review
January 29, 2014
After spending a year with this book, going through it in a small group setting, I can highly recommend this book.
The introduction alone is worth the cost of this book. Ben Patterson reminds us that these Psalms are all prayers that at the same time are inspired scripture. If we want to learn more about prayer, we have a God given list of prayers that He inspired His servants to pray right back to Himself. Patterson takes over 60 of the Psalms and writes a devotion that leads the reader through the ways all of the Psalms, even the ones that seem violent, can be used to help us learn more about prayer and how we should be praying today. This is not a "how to pray" book, but is instead a book that helps you pray what is already on your mind as it relates to each of the Psalms, and how to shape your prayers in a way that God desires.
The introduction alone is worth the cost of this book. Ben Patterson reminds us that these Psalms are all prayers that at the same time are inspired scripture. If we want to learn more about prayer, we have a God given list of prayers that He inspired His servants to pray right back to Himself. Patterson takes over 60 of the Psalms and writes a devotion that leads the reader through the ways all of the Psalms, even the ones that seem violent, can be used to help us learn more about prayer and how we should be praying today. This is not a "how to pray" book, but is instead a book that helps you pray what is already on your mind as it relates to each of the Psalms, and how to shape your prayers in a way that God desires.
Currently Reading
August 23, 2009very good book, a friend gave me, reading and praying the psalms
February 10, 2016
Wonderful, gentle author explaining the Psalms as a devotional prayer book. Great book!
January 24, 2013
Book given as a gift at Officer's Councils. Pretty good read.
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews