BOOK REVIEW - ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ - This book was such a gift for me in a season of wandering and wondering. The collection and benediction is one I will continue to come back to often. The variety of voices and styles was a great reminder of the melody of God’s voice. Thank you @sarahbessey and thank you @netgalley!

“A Rhythm of Prayer” by Sarah Bessey is a collection of prayers from various writers, speakers, activists, and more. Each with unique perspective and refreshing clarity, this collection of prayers is made to challenge your usual prayer life and encourage you to grow closer to God, however you can.

This book was interesting for me because it has a lot of prayer styles I’ve either never heard of or prayer styles I’m unfamiliar with because of my background churches and college. Despite my discomfort with some options, I did find it freeing to know there are so many styles available.

This book really brought me back to the primary point of prayer: communicating with God. That being said, your intention is more important than your style. This book opened up new avenues for when I feel disconnected or a little lost, however it also showed me that being honest about the disconnect is fine and real.

In the end, this book was short and sweet. I feel like the length worked against it for reviewing purposes, because the full potential of this book likely comes from reading when you feel stuck or overwhelmed. Personally, I give it 4 stars because I feel there’s always something to learn from the faith of others even if they don’t go to the same church or do the same things you do.

Thanks to NetGalley and Convergent Books for the ARC in exchange for my honest review!

Sarah Bessey could write a grocery list and I would find it compelling and uplifting, but we now know that she can also edit an anthology with the same deft hand. I love this collection with its many, many voices and perspectives and prayers. A Rhythm of Prayer is an absolute delight.

I’m a longtime reader of Sarah Bessey. She has such a beautiful way with words that touches my heart. This is such a hopeful book and I’d share it with anyone.

This book has been the perfect accompaniment to my daily Lenten practice. Each prayer more beautiful or eye opening that before. I have marked up my book with stickies and flags for passages I want to go back to. I can see myself revisiting this book in every situation for years and years to come.

This collection of prayers is wonderful. It is thoughtfully collected into sections: orientation, disorientation, and reorientation. I loved beautiful mix of authors represented in this work and the variety of belief they represent.

These prayers were a breath of fresh air to me. They were comforting and challenging and full of truth and love. I took the book slowly, reading one or two prayers a day. It was just what I needed. I know that I will be rereading this for years to come. I got this from Netgalley and Convergent Books as a digital ARC. I went ahead and bought the paper version as I knew I was going to need it.

I have highlighted so much of this book. I cannot pick a favorite. They all speak to different emotions and situations and needs. I am grateful to have this now.

This collection of prayers was beautiful, challenging, and holy. Many brought me to tears, several made me uncomfortable, and all made me grateful that the authors would share them with the world. This is not your average prayer book, instead it has deep laments, sacred wondering, and glimmers of hope in the wilderness. I look forward to going back and reading these prayers slowly and I imagine this will be an essential resource for years to come.

Sarah Bessey is one of my favorite people. One time she shared a review of mine and I cried. But this book compiled and edited by her is gold. So many perspectives on prayer that I feel like are important for our minds to get that prayer isn't just "dear God, thank you for xyz...." It's so much more.

I have savored every word of this book. I’ve gone back over most of the prayers at least twice already. I have fallen asleep listening to the audiobook multiple times. (This is a good thing!)

(Also, is it any wonder I had a dream last night where Sarah Bessey was comforting me? 😂)

Anyway, do yourself a favor and read this book. Buy it if you can, you’re going to want to come back to it again and again.

This collection of prayers and meditations by women leaders, speakers, pastors, writers, and creators. from all over the world.

Each entry has its own flavor and personality as unique as the individual women who wrote them. Yet each voice is part of a larger chorus echoing the truths of the faith: that God is closer than your breath and constantly revealing Himself.

I think every reader will find something to identify with in this collection as well as new perspectives that challenge our ideas of faith, spirituality, and prayer. In the past five years or so, I personally have found it powerful and meaningful to borrow the prayers of others when I don't have the words. This collection provides so many different kinds of prayer, and I know it's one I will be coming back to time and again.

Thanks to #Netgalley and #ConvergentBooks for the ARC! #ARhythmofPrayer

In our current world, people are incredibly disconnected from each other and many have fallen out of the habit of praying. This book starts with an introduction providing the reader some background on the editor's relationship with prayer and a brief overview of prayers included in the Bible. Ultimately, the book provides a compilation of prayers and encourages the reader to find time for prayer again. Each prayer is unique, and they are written by various female faith leaders with Bible passages woven in. Some prayers resonated with me more than others, but I found that I still appreciated the variety provided. In particular, I appreciated Sarah Bessey's inclusion of diverse perspectives, and the relevance of these prayers for the situations we currently face. These prayers can easily be used independently at home or they could be included in liturgy during worship.

Y’all. This book— a collection of prayers compiled by Sarah Bessey—is giving me LIFE. I don’t remember the last time I just wept reading a Christian book. (Oh, just kidding. This book is powerful. Some of the prayers are by Sarah Bessey herself, along with a wealth of other Christian writers and teachers. I don’t agree with every single thing Sarah Bessey says, but gosh, I love that she has a heart for Jesus, and when I’m feeling so worn down by this world and other believers, her words are a BALM. Just reading her introduction was like God putting medicine on wounds that I didn’t realize hadn’t ever healed. I was very graciously given an e-ARC of this book by the publisher, which officially releases on February 9, and I highly recommend you get a copy for yourself. I am asking for a print copy for my birthday because I have already made notes all over my Kindle copy. Bessey has gathered authors from all sorts of life circumstances and perspectives that make this book a timely and needed read for 2021.

An absolutely gorgeous collection of prayers that speak to the complexity amd tenacity of faith. I have been so blessed by the words within these pages, and know that I will turn to them over and over again. I will give this book as a gift to those I love and will buy a finished copy for myself, too. I can't recommend it highly enough!

I had forgotten that Sarah Bessey is a progressive Christian writer, so I apologize for requesting this book. But I cannot, in good faith, give good reviews about this book. While it is well written and a beautiful cover, I do not agree with the theology of Bessey and disagree with her biblically on many many points. Out of respect for the writer and publisher, I will not share a negative review on Amazon or Goodreads. All honest opinions are put here and no where else.

The balm we all needed for our souls in 2021. Even as an atheist I found the prayers insightful, full of empathy and meditative. I found the words of Sarah Bessey who has always had a clear and calming style, beautiful and the diverse group of contributors were exactly what is needed of the faith community today even for those of us who don’t pray. Well done.

While I’m not familiar with every one of these authors I’m familiar with many of them and this collection is such a blessing. Sometimes I laughed. Sometimes I cried. But always I found myself with new ideas about how to pray and hope in turning to the divine as I go through each day.

Highly recommend for anyone who is struggling with feeling on the outskirts of Christianity right now and looking for words to reach out in a variety of emotional states.

This beautifully curated and presentation of prayers by dynamic women is both a gorgeous book on honest prayer as well as a glimpse at some wonderful thinkers and leaders on faith. I am already on my second read through the book. The first one was merely a quick pass through the book. Now I'm spending time with each prayer - savoring it, praying it, and in one case so far I'm even writing my own prayer in response.

This collection honestly confronts hard issues in a way that God welcomes.

I'm used to prayer books that you pick up and put down, read a few prayers or read one in the morning, but this book is so much more. It's not a daily devotional, it is a collection of prayers, meditations, scripture, confessions, and insight from some of many of the well know women theology writers.

I read the book in one sitting, hungry for the next experience. Sarah Bessey has organized the book into 3 sections that exemplify my own experience--Orientation, Disorientation, and Reorientation--as I continually cycle from getting my footing, to questioning, to returning to my foundation.

When I was leading youth groups, I wish I had had Amena Brown's "She Said, 'How Do You Know When You Are Hearing From God?'" prayer when I struggled to answer that question.

When I need to remember how easy and fulfilling prayer can be, I'll re-read Osheta Moore's "Reconciliation Soup."

When I need a reminder of the extremes our minds and emotions can take us, I'll re-read Alia Joy's powerfully honest "The Foolishness of a Kingdom."

When I need to be reminded of struggles that I need understand better, I'll re-read "Prayer of a Weary Black Woman."

When I get into discussions about my faith leading me to work for social justice, I'll re-read "Examen Your Politics" by Nish Weiseth, and remember, "When we are formed into the image of Jesus for the sake of others, only then will we have a politics that is formed by our faith, rather than the other way around."

And as I reorient myself, needing to find my way back to prayer and my foundation, I'll read Bessey "A Benedicion" and remember "The truth of our belovedness..."

This is a book I can go back to again and again and will recommend to ladies groups in my church that I meet with regularly.

A Rhythm of Prayer a book edited by Sarah Bessey is a collection of prayers and meditations that invites the reader to seek peace, solitude, and quiet through prayer. The collection is organized by topics such as direction, lack of direction, and how to find your direction. The prayers are both joyful, angry, peaceful, and sad, able to address every hope and fear you have. Many of these prayers have a literary tone with beautiful prose. It is easy to read and you can jump to a prayer that speaks to you.

One of my favorite prayers is “SHE SAID, “HOW DO YOU KNOW WHEN YOU ARE HEARING FROM GOD?” by Amena Brown. It is a captivating passage with melodic writing, which is fitting with Brown's background as a spoken word poet. There is a rhythm to her writing and makes prayer a joyful, beautiful experience rather than rote and monotonous. Many of the other prayers included in this book are just as amazing and I highly recommend this for individuals wanting to strengthen their prayer life but with gorgeous language rather than repetitive prayers.

Many thanks to the publisher Convergent Books and Netgalley for the ARC in return for an honest review.

This is a beautiful cover. I found some of the prayers/meditations to be beautiful and some to be meh. It was just ok for me. I was hoping for more.