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100 Prayers Every Christian Should Know: Build Your Faith with the Prayers That Shaped History
"Ideal for readers whose prayer life has felt a little uninspired lately, 100 Prayers Every Christian Should Know offers a glimpse at some of history's most inspired words of prayer. The book will walk believers through the words of centuries' worth of the "great cloud of witnesses," whose offerings of praise and petitions still ring with importance even now"--
272 pages, Hardcover
Published October 19, 2021
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
October 24, 2021
Our experience with prayer is not something that happens in a vacuum. Millions of people are praying now. Sometimes we are with them as we attend prayer meetings and join our voices with theirs. Millions of people have prayed throughout history but we often are unaware of their words and their potential influence on our own prayer life.
Sometimes we just don't know how to pray. This book offers a collection of prayers organized in topics so we can find and read prayers to inspire us in our area of need. A bit of biographical information is given about the person who prayed the prayer. After the prayer is given, there are a few thoughts on why this prayer was included in the collection.
Some of the prayers and people who prayed them were no surprise. There is a prayer about not letting anything frighten or disturb us from St. Teresa of Avila. There is the often quoted prayer of St. Francis of Assisi. There are prayers for the nation by various presidents and political figures. There are prayers from people we recognize, like Dwight L. Moody, Billy Sunday, John Newton, and Susanna Wesley. I found some surprises like the one line prayer from Mister Rogers and a very lengthy prayer from Jane Austen. I was also surprised to find the overly promoted and often misused Prayer of Jabez in the collection.
This is a good book for Christians looking for encouragement and inspiration in their prayer life. You will find how Christians have communicated with God through the centuries. You will see how some have confessed and pleaded and praised. You will find prayers that will help you form your own prayer life with new insight and energy.
I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher. My comments are an independent and honest review.
Sometimes we just don't know how to pray. This book offers a collection of prayers organized in topics so we can find and read prayers to inspire us in our area of need. A bit of biographical information is given about the person who prayed the prayer. After the prayer is given, there are a few thoughts on why this prayer was included in the collection.
Some of the prayers and people who prayed them were no surprise. There is a prayer about not letting anything frighten or disturb us from St. Teresa of Avila. There is the often quoted prayer of St. Francis of Assisi. There are prayers for the nation by various presidents and political figures. There are prayers from people we recognize, like Dwight L. Moody, Billy Sunday, John Newton, and Susanna Wesley. I found some surprises like the one line prayer from Mister Rogers and a very lengthy prayer from Jane Austen. I was also surprised to find the overly promoted and often misused Prayer of Jabez in the collection.
This is a good book for Christians looking for encouragement and inspiration in their prayer life. You will find how Christians have communicated with God through the centuries. You will see how some have confessed and pleaded and praised. You will find prayers that will help you form your own prayer life with new insight and energy.
I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher. My comments are an independent and honest review.
January 26, 2022
This is a beautiful and practical collection of prayers from many voices of faith throughout the centuries. It is divided into groupings like “Prayers for Peace and Comfort” and “Prayers for Humility.” Each day begins with a short paragraph of context with a historical background. Then after the prayer, a “Why This Prayer” paragraph gives thoughtful reflection and further insight. A great book for history buffs and those who want to know more about the saints of history.
I received a preview copy from the publisher.
I received a preview copy from the publisher.
February 23, 2023
This book had a great idea going. It pulled 100 prayers from history and included a brief biographical sketch of each contributor or source. There were many godly people from many different time periods and countries.
The problem? It claims to be a book of "prayers every Christian should know" but a better title might have been "prayers of hopeful inspiration whether the individual is saved or not". Instead of a diversity of Christian prayers, it was a diversity of prayers that included some Christians. It seemed like the majority were prayers by Roman Catholics (even those infamous for their hatred for Protestants) and social justice advocates, including women preachers. I'm not opposed to social justice advocates and think that they are important and did a lot of good, but just because they mentioned God or referred to Him in their prayers doesn't mean that their cause or methods were godly. There were also several prayers by famous people (presidents, authors, etc) who didn't necessarily claim to be Christians, some by people from false religions such as Quakers, and some by blatant deists.
The good prayers were encouraging, those from the Bible and godly people in history who had a life to match their profession of faith. But there were also many prayers lacking from the Bible that "every Christian should know". Prayer is a serious part of a Christian's relationship with God by faith in Jesus. If this was a book of inspiring quotes from history, that would be one thing, but the title claimed that these were prayers every Christian should know and should have been prayers from godly men and women whose lives matched their theology and whose theology matched the primary, non-negotiables of Scripture.
This book is such a mixed bag of people and many of the prayers are hypocritical because of what else the person believed and practiced. There are diamonds hidden throughout from people like John Newton, George Muller, and Fanny Crosby, but where are the faithful Christian missionaries and pastors? the faithful godly mothers? the faithful from around the world, not just those who advocated for social justice?
If you want a book of sentimental quotes from people who may or may not have been Christians, this is the book for you.
The problem? It claims to be a book of "prayers every Christian should know" but a better title might have been "prayers of hopeful inspiration whether the individual is saved or not". Instead of a diversity of Christian prayers, it was a diversity of prayers that included some Christians. It seemed like the majority were prayers by Roman Catholics (even those infamous for their hatred for Protestants) and social justice advocates, including women preachers. I'm not opposed to social justice advocates and think that they are important and did a lot of good, but just because they mentioned God or referred to Him in their prayers doesn't mean that their cause or methods were godly. There were also several prayers by famous people (presidents, authors, etc) who didn't necessarily claim to be Christians, some by people from false religions such as Quakers, and some by blatant deists.
The good prayers were encouraging, those from the Bible and godly people in history who had a life to match their profession of faith. But there were also many prayers lacking from the Bible that "every Christian should know". Prayer is a serious part of a Christian's relationship with God by faith in Jesus. If this was a book of inspiring quotes from history, that would be one thing, but the title claimed that these were prayers every Christian should know and should have been prayers from godly men and women whose lives matched their theology and whose theology matched the primary, non-negotiables of Scripture.
This book is such a mixed bag of people and many of the prayers are hypocritical because of what else the person believed and practiced. There are diamonds hidden throughout from people like John Newton, George Muller, and Fanny Crosby, but where are the faithful Christian missionaries and pastors? the faithful godly mothers? the faithful from around the world, not just those who advocated for social justice?
If you want a book of sentimental quotes from people who may or may not have been Christians, this is the book for you.
November 6, 2021
100 Prayers Every Christian Should Know is a brand-new book by Bethany House enclosed as a collection of prayers. The book discussed different prayers from key figures in history. Some of these included presidents, theologians, church leaders, and Bible characters. The book featured prayers from, “Dwight L. Moody, Charles Spurgeon, Harriet Tubman, Abraham Lincoln, Ronald Reagan, William Tyndale, Andrew Murray, John Calvin, Prayers for Grace for Meals, Jonah, Hannah”, and much more. Each day started by explaining who the important person was and what they did with their life. Next, there was a prayer and an explanation about why this prayer is important. The book has a few different sections of prayer such as, “prayers for peace and comfort, guidance and light in the darkest hours, changed hearts, nation to be moved, face of pain and grief, faith to be strengthened, humility”, and more.
I would recommend this wonderful collection to anyone who is ready to pray prayers from past centuries. Some of the prayers were very dark in nature but they showed the honest of the time and what they were experiencing. One of these was from Harriet Tubman and how she was praying for her slave master and how she wanted God to change his heart and then it changed to if he wasn’t going to then if he would just kill him. This show us that we can be honest and truthful to God. They compared her event to Moses and how he begged for Pharaoh to release the Israelites. I also liked the presidential prayers and how they prayed for the nation. There are tons of prayers included in the book to encourage readers to dig deeper into their spiritual growth.
"I received this book free from the publisher, Bethany House/Chosen Books for my honest review.”
I would recommend this wonderful collection to anyone who is ready to pray prayers from past centuries. Some of the prayers were very dark in nature but they showed the honest of the time and what they were experiencing. One of these was from Harriet Tubman and how she was praying for her slave master and how she wanted God to change his heart and then it changed to if he wasn’t going to then if he would just kill him. This show us that we can be honest and truthful to God. They compared her event to Moses and how he begged for Pharaoh to release the Israelites. I also liked the presidential prayers and how they prayed for the nation. There are tons of prayers included in the book to encourage readers to dig deeper into their spiritual growth.
"I received this book free from the publisher, Bethany House/Chosen Books for my honest review.”
November 11, 2021
This is not just a book about prayer. It is a book of prayers. Prayers by others. Prayers from their hearts. We can learn a lot by reading and meditating on these prayers. We are busy people. But none of us is too busy for things that we regard as priorities. If we are not careful we will find ourselves too busy for prayer. We must make it a priority!
When a doctoral student at Princeton asked, "What is there left in the world for original dissertation research?" Albert Einstein replied, "Find out about prayer. Somebody must find out about prayer." These 100 people found out something important about prayer. It was a major part of their lives. It was as important as their heart beat. You sense this and "feel" it when you read their prayers.
100 Prayers Every Christian Should Know contains prayers by Fanny Crosby, William Wilberforce, Martin Luther, John Knox, St. Augustine, Fred Rogers, John Wesley, Abraham Lincoln, John Calvin,
Ronald Reagan and others. Some you will know. Others you may never have heard of before. But all of the prayers are offered to the God you love and pray to.
I like the words of hymn writer James Montgomery and close with them:
O Thou by whom we come to God
The life, the truth, the way,
The path of prayer Thyself hast trod:
Lord, teach us how to pray.
When a doctoral student at Princeton asked, "What is there left in the world for original dissertation research?" Albert Einstein replied, "Find out about prayer. Somebody must find out about prayer." These 100 people found out something important about prayer. It was a major part of their lives. It was as important as their heart beat. You sense this and "feel" it when you read their prayers.
100 Prayers Every Christian Should Know contains prayers by Fanny Crosby, William Wilberforce, Martin Luther, John Knox, St. Augustine, Fred Rogers, John Wesley, Abraham Lincoln, John Calvin,
Ronald Reagan and others. Some you will know. Others you may never have heard of before. But all of the prayers are offered to the God you love and pray to.
I like the words of hymn writer James Montgomery and close with them:
O Thou by whom we come to God
The life, the truth, the way,
The path of prayer Thyself hast trod:
Lord, teach us how to pray.
January 10, 2022
This is a collection of prayers that have come down through the centuries. Some were prayed by well-known people, and others were spoken by some I've never heard of, but all of them are meant to inspire and motivate. Many of these prayers are from United States Presidents, others are actually poems or hymns from songwriters and authors, and there are also prayers from people of the Bible. Some prayers are simple, and some are elaborate, but all of them address issues that we often face in our own lives.
I often find myself wondering how I should pray for a certain situation, and this book is the perfect resource. The prayers are listed by topics, and each prayer has historical notes and a devotion to further my understanding. I recommend '100 Prayers Every Christian Should Know' to those who find themselves searching for the right words, and I believe that it would be a wonderful addition in both a home or church library.
I received a copy of this book from Bethany House Publishers. There was no obligation for a favorable review. These are my own thoughts.
I often find myself wondering how I should pray for a certain situation, and this book is the perfect resource. The prayers are listed by topics, and each prayer has historical notes and a devotion to further my understanding. I recommend '100 Prayers Every Christian Should Know' to those who find themselves searching for the right words, and I believe that it would be a wonderful addition in both a home or church library.
I received a copy of this book from Bethany House Publishers. There was no obligation for a favorable review. These are my own thoughts.
January 8, 2022
This book is packed full of prayers. Literally! It is broken down into different categories that readers may be seeking answers from: Peace and Comfort, Guidance, Adoration, Changed Hearts, Justice, Moving a Nation, Pain and Grief, Strength, Thanksgiving, Mercy, Faithfulness, and Humility. Each prayer comes from a historical figure that gives personal background for both the author and the prayer. This is a great resource for many!
I received a complimentary copy of this title from the publisher. The views and opinions expressed within are my own.
I received a complimentary copy of this title from the publisher. The views and opinions expressed within are my own.
May 22, 2025
This book is a collection of prayers by both famous and somewhat lesser-known Christians throughout church history. Each prayer is accompanied by a short biography and then followed by a short devotional on the prayer. As someone who loves history, I found it extremely interesting and inspiring!
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews