An African Prayer Book

by Desmond Tutu

Prayer, our conversation with God, needs no set formulas or flowery phrases. It often needs no words at all. But for most believers, the words of others can be a wonderful aid to devotion, especially when these words come from faithful fellow pilgrims.

An African Prayer Book is just such an aid, for in this collection all the spiritual riches of the vast and varied continent of Africa are bravely set forth. Here we overhear the simple prayer of the penniless Bushman, the words of some of the greatest Church fathers (Augustine and Athanasius), petitioning and jubilant voices from South Africa’s struggle for freedom, and even prayers from the Africa diasporas of North America and the Caribbean. Here are Jesus’s own encounters with Africa, which provided him refuge at the beginning of his life (from the murderous King Herod) and aid at its end (in the person of Simon of Cyrene, who helped Jesus carry his cross). From thunderous multi-invocation litanies to quiet meditations, here are prayers every heart can speak with strength and confidence.

Genres: Prayer, Religion, Spirituality, Theology, Africa, Devotional, Christianity

138 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1995

About the author

Desmond Mpilo Tutu was a South African cleric and activist who rose to worldwide fame during the 1980s as an opponent of apartheid. In 1984, Tutu became the second South African to be awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. Tutu was the first black South African Anglican Archbishop of Cape Town, South Africa, and primate of the Church of the Province of Southern Africa (now the Anglican Church of Southern Africa). Tutu chaired the Truth and Reconciliation Commission and is currently the chairman of The Elders. Tutu was vocal in his defense of human rights and used his high profile to campaign for the oppressed. Tutu also campaigned to fight AIDS, homophobia, poverty and racism.

He received the Nobel Peace Prize in 1984, the Albert Schweitzer Prize for Humanitarianism, the Gandhi Peace Prize in 2005 and the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2009. Tutu has also compiled several books of his speeches and sayings.

Reviews

[Rachel · Rating 2 out of 5]

I picked this up in a charity shop for £1.50.

It seemed a good price for a window on late 20th century Africa: how the gospel was expressed in local idiom; how prayer was roused under Apartheid; how a fisherman or a desert or a fire speak to the glory of God.

There's a lot of Augustine in here, but also a disappointing number of prayers to ancestors and nature, and Anglo-Catholic nods to saints and the Virgin Mary. This isn't a prayer book but a liberal collection - half pagan poems and political statements, half genuine supplication.

[James Scott · Rating 5 out of 5]

A refreshing experience of prayer. Particularly helpful if you've felt dried out by the repetitive empty prayers of the white evangelical church

[Twitchmatic · Rating 4 out of 5]

What a refreshing book! Simply categorized, this collection uplifts my spirit, expands my heart and fills in those places where my own words currently fail.

[Peter · Rating 5 out of 5]

A collection of prayers and liturgy from the various cultures of Africa.
It is inimitably African in flavour and spirit, from the simple and exuberantly thankful east African prayers to the more "liberational" politically charged cries for freedom and forgiveness of South Africa.
I was pleased to see the inclusion of Augustine of Hippo, who many may forget was born and ministered in what is modern day Algeria.

[Tori · Rating 3 out of 5]

I wish I looked at this more closely. It is a nice collection of prayers, but I thought the sections that Desmond Tutu wrote were longer than they turned out to be. I really wanted to read something by him.

[Dan · Rating 4 out of 5]

A collection of prayers that I intend to keep handy on the night table for periodic re-reading.

[Ramakgabera Gilbert Rapoo · Rating 5 out of 5]

Prayer, our conversation with God, needs no set formulas or flowery phrases. It often needs no words at all.

[Madison · Rating 4 out of 5]

Tutu’s introduction alone is a wonderful reflection on the gift of cross-cultural spirituality, and the book as a whole is a breath of fresh air from Western evangelicalism. Particularly loved “Reflections on Wholeness” from An African Call for Life. Beautiful words and prayers throughout. One of my favorite thrifted books from this year.

[Glenda York · Rating 4 out of 5]

Prayer is a conversation with God and words that others give us can be a wonderful devotional aid towards these conversations. This collection is divided into Adoration, Contrition, Thanksgiving, Supplication and Daily Life. It is spiritually quite rich and there is something for everybody.

[Jeremy · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a very eclectic collection of ancient and contemporary prayers from across the continent of Africa. I worked through it by reading one prayer daily and greatly enjoyed it.

[Ann Louise Hunt · Rating 5 out of 5]

Reading prayers of others helps me to have empathy for others.