Combining prayers in two languages–words and images–this contemporary prayer guide will help you spend time in conversation with God.As people of faith, we all struggle at times to sustain a flourishing prayer life–a loss felt all the more keenly in these times of confusion, political turbulence, and global calamity. This unique book offers a timeless solution for the spiritual and skeptical … spiritual and skeptical alike.
Combining story-driven reflections with visual and written prayers, this simple 40-day prayer guide will help you reconnect with God as you rediscover your own ongoing conversation with Him. Using the familiar refrains in the Lord’s Prayer as a guide, this groundbreaking resource invites you to reconnect with God creatively and organically.
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May I soberly remember that people will someday tell stories about the life I lived. And may that change the way I live between then and now. (Prayer 6)
This is just one of many short prayers that can be found in a new book by Justin McRoberts and Scott Erickson. May It Be So: Forty Days with the Lord’s Prayer is their unique look at the beloved prayer found in Matthew 6:9-13 and they combine text and illustrations to give readers a new perspective.
The Lord’s Prayer is referred to as the model prayer and most of us learned it at an early age. This book breaks it down, line by line, through using One-line Prayers, Imagery (black and white illustrations) , Meditations, and Suggested Practices to offer us a new way of seeing, hearing, and understanding His words. This is a small book but its 128 pages are overflowing with inspiration and motivation. I especially liked the suggested prayers and two of them especially resonated with me.
May I offer help far more readily than I offer criticism. (Prayer 1)
May I have room for guilt to convict me without letting shame define me. (Prayer 33)
Reading this book has given me a whole new understanding of The Lord’s Prayer. May It Be So is a book to be treasured and I highly recommend it.
I received a complimentary copy of this book from Waterbrook. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.
May It Be So: Forty Days with the Lord’s Prayer, by Justin McRoberts and Scott Erickson, is a truly special book. Humble introspection and thoughtful contemplation bring fresh insight and deeper meaning to the Lord’s Prayer and how it can be incorporated into one’s ongoing prayer life. The thoughts and prayers shared by Mr. McRoberts are profoundly moving, relevant, and meaningful. The illustrations drawn by Mr. Erickson are intriguing, memorable, and thought-provoking. The written words in combination with the illustrations facilitate powerful moments of deep reflection and grace-filled encouragement.
May It Be So: Forty Days with the Lord’s Prayer is a wonderfully unique and edifying look at the Lord’s Prayer specifically and prayer in general. I found the text and artistry of this book to be ruminative, inspiring, and uplifting. It is certainly a book worthy of being re-read often and frequently shared with others. It has quickly become a valuable part of my personal Bible study time, and I highly recommend it to all readers.
*I was given a copy of this book by the publisher. A review was not required. The review I have written is voluntary and contains opinions that are entirely my own.
MAY IT BE SO: Forty Days with the Lord’s Prayer by Justin McRoberts and Scott Erickson is a short but powerful book about The Lord’s Prayer. It contains forty individual short, one-sentence prayers with an accompanying picture. Most Christians know the Lord’s Prayer but have they really considered what they are actually praying? MAY IT BE SO can be used as a devotional or as a prayer guide to enhance your prayer life. Each phrase of the Lord’s Prayer is discussed, often using personal stories to make it more interesting. It is meant to be spread out over a 40 day period but I read it in two days, and will refer back to it in the future, it’s definitely a book you will want to read several times. Each phrase/chapter has a ‘pause and reflect’ section at the end to encourage the reader to think a little deeper.
I received a complimentary copy from the publisher in exchange for my honest review.
May It Be So written by Justin McRoberts and illustrated by Scott Erickson is a book meant to encourage the reader to a more meaningful conversational relationship with God. It is laid out with 40 very short prayers, each paired with a contemplative image, which are intended to be read daily. The ultimate goal of the book seems to be that the prayers will help the reader recognize that he or she is loved by God, is indeed beloved by God. I read it much more quickly than the 40 days but with a plan to return to the book and journal my thoughts regarding the prayers and images presented. The author intentionally wrote brief prayers so the reader’s focus would be on God’s work in one’s life and His love and not on the eloquence of the author’s words. As well, there are seven devotional-like writings gleaned from the author’s own experiences, giving the reader more guidance to focus on a specific phrase from the Lord’s Prayer. I liked the simple yet thought-provoking pictures paired with the prayers as I am not a very contemplative person and the pictures made me stop and think about how they related to the prayer and ultimately to myself. Some connections I ‘got’ right away, others took me a bit to grasp the relationship to the prayer. In the busyness of my world, reading May It Be So encouraged me to truly think about God and His work in and through me. A couple of the prayers that resonated with me are “May I have vision in and through my trials rather than search for ways to escape them” and “May I learn to see that my needs are beautifully tangled up with what I give to others. My life is not my own.” May It Be So is not a ‘how-to’ book on prayer but a book that encourages the reader to pray, to have a conversation with the Heavenly Father who grants His children the assurance of His presence and love.
I received a complimentary copy from the publisher, Waterbrook, and was not required to write a positive review. The opinions are my own.
The Lord’s Prayer taught to us by Jesus and recorded in Matthew chapter 6 verses 9-13 is His response to the disciples request to be taught how to pray. Justin McRobert’s and Scott Erickson’s book, May It Be So, is a 40-day study to contemplate your life, loves and how God is in, and around all the parts of life. I received an advanced reader’s copy of May It Be So from Waterbrook & Multnomah as a member of the Launch Team for an honest review.
The book is designed to enhance prayer life and understanding of The Lord’s Prayer. What I liked about the book. I liked the way each section highlighted a particular line or part of the prayer. Images are included with thoughtful statements to help the reader/participant form a deeper understanding of the prayer’s section.
Another part of the book that I have found very enjoyable is the short vignettes that are included at the beginning of each new section of the prayer. The stories illustrate various sections and help the reader remain focused on the content of the study. I heartily recommend May It Be So to anyone wanting to enrich their prayer life and build a deeper understanding of the Lord’s Prayer