CAN WE USE PRAYER BOOKS?

Like many in the church here at Grace I come from a Catholic background. As a child we never opened the Bible but would often read from prayer books both at Mass and at home. To me the prayers seemed distant and cold, addressed to a far off God or Saint. When I came to know the Lord in a personal way I put all such prayer books far behind me. Now I read the Bible, and prayed only from my heart...prayers of thanksgiving, living requests, and pouring out my deep felt needs to the Lord. The thought of using a prayer book was like taking a step backwards from a living relationship to cold formal religion.

But then.....as life became more hectic, I found my prayer life began to take more and more of a back seat. Not good. Not at all good for any Christian, not to mind a church leader. Then one day I was listening to a friend who also leads a church (in the UK) and he mentioned that he uses a Christian Prayer Book to help him in his prayer life. In my 26 years as a Christian I had never heard of a Bible based Christian Prayer Book. At first my old prejudices began to rise up within, but because I respect my friend I listened carefully. What he said made sense. And I decided to check it out for myself.

I ended up buying 2 prayer books by Eugene Peterson called "Praying with Moses" and " Praying with the Early Christians". This has really helped my prayer life. Some days during the week I have the time to pray in my own style, the way I've prayed since I came to know the Lord in 1980. But some days when it's wall to wall, I read out these beautiful prayers from the prayer books during my devotional time. It helps me focus in faster, yet still connect with God. I've found my relationship with God has gone deeper, introducing new thoughts and reflections that otherwise may not have occurred to me.

So to all those who have thrown out "religious" practices, take another look.....You may find a baby or two swimming in the bathwater.