Praying Proverbs

Proverbs is one of my favorite books in the Bible to encourage kids and teens to read independently. It is relatively easy to understand and is filled with lots of great practical advice for living a godly life. It even has 31 chapters – removing the stress of missing a day of Bible reading. Just read the chapter with the same number as the current date.

I was interested when offered an opportunity to review Proverbs Prayers by John Mason. I was in hopes it would include a discussion of the types of prayers reading Proverbs might prompt the Christian reader to pray. Unfortunately, this was not the case.

Full disclosure – I am not a fan of authors who write prayers for the reader to pray. I believe it sends a probably unintended message that the reader is incapable of praying “adequate” prayers and needs help from the author.

As a result, I am really torn about this book. On one hand, I appreciate that the author printed the entire book of Proverbs within the book and in a version known for its accuracy (New American Standard) – not a paraphrase – which may have more “common” English, but can shift the meaning.

I also can (to a point) appreciate the prayers. I am sure there are instances when these prayers can help others. Personally though, I was disappointed. It almost seemed as if the prayers assumed I couldn’t understand what I had just read on my own and needed to have it written down for me so I could pray intelligently to God (ignoring the fact the Bible says the Holy Spirit “translates” for us when we don’t know the right words). On the other hand, the English used in the prayers was a little formal and almost stilted.

My bottom line? I think it could be used to generate discussion in a class or study of Proverbs – would you pray these things after reading that chapter? What else would your pray? Why would you change what the author chose to write? People who enjoy books with written prayers will probably love this book- all of Proverbs and a prayer specifically tailored to almost every chapter. While I appreciate the effort, I personally would not purchase this book. As the saying goes though – “To each his own”.

This book was given to me for free in exchange for my honest review. An affiliate link is included for your convenience.