Prayer: Forty Days of Practice

If you don't know where to start when you pray, this book is for you.
If you want to grow in prayer, this book is for you.
If you want to learn new prayer practices, this book is for you.

Even though this book does not contain a lot of words or analytical discussions, it is a great place to pare down and get back to the basis of prayer, The meditative prayers allow a starting place to build off of. The new practices scattered throughout the book give you a way to grow and learn.

Highly recommend "Prayer: Forty Days of Practice"!

I received a copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

What a beautiful, slow, simple book on prayer. At the heart of this 40 day journey is the authors’ belief that the essence of prayer (connecting with the God of the universe in every aspect of life) is more important than the mechanics. So while there are suggestions, and guided practices, it feels like the point is less telling what to do than encouraging readers to turn their faces upward.

I really love the art and guided prayers (which are mostly one-sentence, simple but very profound. “May love be stronger in me than the fear of the pain that comes with caring.”)

I read this on my Kindle Paperwhite, but I think I would have preferred a physical copy. This feels like a book meant to be held in my hands, and I am curious how the art looks on paper v. a screen. My one critique might be eliminated in a paper book (or in the final copy, I have an ARC): There is no table of contents in the kindle version I have , and it isn’t clear how this fits into the 40
Days framework the title implies. Am I supposed to read a page a day? I read all of the pages up until a practice was introduced (they mostly for together thematically), then experimented with that practice over the next week...

Many thanks to Netgalley for providing me with an advanced reader copy of this book in exchange for my honest opinion. Which is that I will buy this book, either for myself or to give to friends who love beauty and prayer.

(This review was also posted to my Goodreads page, Renee Davis Meyer)

As someone who is currently exploring Centering Prayer there are elements of this book which I am sure I will benefit from when I spend more time with it.
The book helps in providing brief succinct guidancec notes on Guided Prayers, Contemplative Imagery, Meditations, and suggested practices.
"May I..." framing of prayers is extremely helpful, as is the book being one which there need not be any specific order to the use of each of the 40 prayers.
The illustrations are simplified with the use of only black, white, and throughout one other colour. I think many of these will help focus attention and help reduce the distracting thoughts that enter quiet contemplation.
The anecedotes are interesting and give just enough to invite the reader to explore the methods and prayers provided.

I was drawn to this book because I have been a fan of Scott Erickson's artwork for many years. His artwork pairs wonderfully with Justin McRoberts's writing to create a beautiful book. It is comprised of short prayers with thought-provoking accompanying images, interspersed with meditations and practices. I enjoyed reading this ebook, but cannot wait for the physical book to be released. It is definitely a book to read in its physical form so that you can see the two-page spread of prayer and image concurrently. It is a book you can return to in your daily personal prayers, and I am also looking forward to reading it with my Bible study group.