Prayers for Healing: 365 Blessings, Poems, & Meditations from Around the World

by Maggie Oman Shannon

As recent scientific research shows, the simple act of praying can be emotionally, spiritually, and even physically healing. With Prayers for Healing, Maggie Oman invites readers into a healing space that can transform both mind and body. Organized in daybook form, the book focuses on healing in all its dimensions - physical, emotional, interpersonal, social, and environmental. Quotations range from sources such as the Bible, the Tao Te Ching, the Koran, the Torah, and Native American texts, as well as from Deepak Chopra, Rumi, Martin Luther King Jr., Marianne Williamson, and others. Together they create a tapestry of comfort and inspiration for rejuvenation and renewal.

Genres: Spirituality, Poetry, Nonfiction, Personal Development, Prayer, Devotional, Meditation

321 pages, Kindle Edition

First published October 1, 1997

About the author

For more than 10 years, Rev. Maggie Oman Shannon, M.A., has explored cross-cultural forms of prayer and spiritual practice through her work as an interfaith minister, spiritual director, workshop and retreat leader, and author of five published books: Prayers for Healing; The Way We Pray: Prayer Practices from Around the World; A String and a Prayer: How to Make and Use Prayer Beads; One God, Shared Hope, Prayers for Hope and Comfort, and her latest, Crafting Calm.

Through her books, magazine articles, workshops and retreats, and blog, Oman Shannon offers creative tools, resources, and guidance for walking the modern contemplative path.

Reviews

[Maddie Sifantus · Rating 5 out of 5]

Found this very useful in my work as a minister but also in my personal devotional practice.

[Maureen · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is very special to me. Uplifting , never fails. Thank You, Maggie Oman. I look forward to seeing you in SF.

[T Love · Rating 5 out of 5]

SOULFUL, INSPIRING, HEALING . . .

This book is so very much what we need right now. Each daily reading, short, meaningful, inspiring, thought provoking, and HEALING. VERY healing. I find it to be comforting and look forward to reading the days passage as well as picking it up and opening to wherever, seemingly getting what I need in that moment. Our world is challenging but this helps to manage our reactions and go inward quickly, and in moments feel less anxious, more peaceful, and much lighter. Prayers for Healing is not a book that one reads and puts down, it is felt, a deep and soulful level, and you will want to pick it up again and again to capture that healing essence guiding you toward your higher purpose. When that happens, we cannot help but spread those feelings of love and compassion to others. Prayers for Healing is a game changer for our world.

[Peacejanz · Rating 5 out of 5]

About 20 years ago, I was very ill. A friend gave me this book and I read the meditations daily. Obviously, I recovered. I continue to read it through every 4 or 5 years. This is a spiritual book; if you believe only in hard science - don't bother. This is about prayers, poems, meditations - not all are directed specifically to healing. Many are about enjoying the world we have and noting our blessings. I have never had one bad thought about anything I have read in this book. It is a treasure and I often go back to the book to find the inspirations I want to pass on to others. I think everyone in the world would benefit from this book.

[Laura Howard · Rating 2 out of 5]

I love having a daily reading/meditation practice and this book was it for the last year of my life. The majority of the readings I didn't connect with, but there were some real gems.

[Princess Isabelle · Rating 5 out of 5]

There are actually 274 pages not 256. This book came to me at exactly the right time it is important

[David Roberts · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a delightful compendium of prayers, poems, and an occasional paragraph of prose, one for each day of the year. It is one of the better daily reading books I have come across. It was a gift from my daughter and her wife, and I really enjoyed reading it this year as one of my 10 daily reading books.

One thing that is just mildly quirky is that it starts on December 21 (the winter solstice) and ends on December 20th. That minor inconvenience is eclipsed by the quality of the selections.

One of my favorites was from today:

After a while you learn the subtle difference
Between holding a hand
And chaining a soul.
And you learn that love doesn't mean leaning
And company doesn't mean security.
And you begin to learn
That kisses aren't compromises
And presents aren't promises.
And you begin to accept your defeats
With your head up and your eyes ahead
With the grace of a woman or a man
Not the grief of a child.
And you learn to build all your loads on today
Because tomorrow's ground is too uncertain for plans
And futures have a way of falling down in midflight.
After a while you learn that even sunshine burns if
you ask too much.
So you plant your own garden
And decorate your own soul
Instead of waiting for someone to buy you flowers.
And you learn that you really can endure
That you really are strong.
And you really do have worth.
And you learn.
And you learn.
With every failure you learn. —Anonymous

A bit more research shows this poem attributed to Veronica A. Shoffstall

[Green Heart Guidance · Rating 3 out of 5]

After reading the three collections of prayers by Elizabeth Roberts and Elias Amidon, Prayers for Healing: 365 Blessings, Poems & Meditations from Around the World by Maggie Oman was a disappointment. I found the included selections to be a very mixed bag. Some were wonderful and others were just odd. Some were only a sentence long. There was far more political content than I like in my prayers and meditations. The editor also included strange commemorations on various dates such as March 2nd (“English poet and author D.H. Lawrence dies in 1930) or March 22nd (“German philosopher Johann Wolfgang von Goethe dies in 1832. His last words were reported to be ‘More light!’”). Certain authors and books were used far too often including A Course in Miracles, the Bible, Ralph Waldo Emerson, and Rumi. The book also includes far more explicitly Christian prayers than I would prefer in a supposedly multi-cultural prayer book: If I were editing the same type of book, I would select Christian works that were accessible to all belief systems, not just those who believe in the divinity of Jesus.

[Lisse · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book provides a thought, blessing or meditation for every day of the year, centered around healing. I love that it incorporates all kinds of religions, and quotes from people from all walks of life. It is inclusive and I found many of the blessings to be very helpful as I was going through my own healing process last year. Some did nothing for me, but more often than not, I found them beautiful and uplifting.
If you know of someone who is going through a healing process in their life and are trying to decide on a gift that could be helpful, I suggest this. Also...if it's you going through the healing process, I suggest you look into getting this book for yourself and make reading it every morning part of your regular routine. It will take you 5 seconds to 2 minutes to read the short thought for your day, but that small amount of time will give you a bit of hope to carry around with you for the rest of your day.

[Alexander Adrien Ren Grey · Rating 2 out of 5]

The prayers are done in a seasonal format. So it's nice to follow along with in real time. There are prayers from different major spiritualities, making it well rounded. The sentiments are good, things like showing gratitude and appreciating the little things. All in all, good for inspiration and to use as examples or templates for formulating your own prayers.

Merged review:

The prayers are done in a seasonal format. So it's nice to follow along with in real time. There are prayers from different major spiritualities, making it well rounded. The sentiments are good, things like showing gratitude and appreciating the little things. All in all, good for inspiration and to use as examples or templates for formulating your own prayers.

[Douglas · Rating 3 out of 5]

Like other books in this series, the selections here expand the definition of prayer. For me prayer is communication with the divine. Most of these segments are from people talking about spirituality addressed to the reader. Healing is also viewed as more than relief from physical ailments. Social relationships and the environment feature prominently among the offerings. There is some overlap with the peace and Earth prayer books by these editors. It can be read as a devotional or straight through.

[Cheryl · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another great gift from my friend. I read from it constantly, a beautiful little book. One of my favorites.

[Theadora Davitt-Cornyn · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's a lovely compilation to keep on hand ! Nina gave this to me at the ttime of my CPE...

[heidi · Rating 3 out of 5]

a nice book to keep on the bedside table to pick up and peruse.

[TJ · Rating 2 out of 5]

Didn't quite speak to me. Oh well

[Mckinley · Rating 2 out of 5]

Starts with winter solstice; a quote a day by calendar day. Doesn't say how or why she selected these particular ones; 'healing' is taken very broadly.
(HHDL writes a brief intro.)

[Mrs.Lady · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have been reading this book for years now ... over and over, slowly experiencing life go by, watching the seasons change. Nice little book to have at your bedside.