What do you think?
Rate this book
The Fourth Prayer
The Fourth Prayer is a powerful, thought provoking story with a strong Christian message. It is the tale of four disparate people – a pastor, a fugitive, a runaway orphan, and an alcoholic vagrant. All of them say a heartfelt prayer – each one’s more desperate than the last. Their lives then come together when those prayers are answered. But how they respond to the answers they are given will dramatically affect their futures – in this life, and possibly the next.Occasionally disturbing, at times humorous, but ultimately inspiring, The Fourth Prayer is a moving account full of loss and regret, but also of hope and redemption. Although set in England, this is an uplifting tale told for all Christians, no matter where they may live. But non-Christians may also enjoy it, and even appreciate the moral it contains.
Paperback
Published May 1, 2022
4 people are currently reading
About the author
S.P. Muir
10 books11 followers S. P. Muir sounds a bit pretentious, doesn't it? Well let me lighten it up for you with a bit more information.
My name is Stephen Peter Muir, I live at the edge of England's beautiful Lake District National Park with my beautiful wife, Rosemary. I won't say quite how old I am, but Noah says to tell you all, 'hi.'
"So what about your writing, Stephen?" I hear you ask. It's funny, but it seems I began writing as soon as I could hold a pen. Poetry and short stories mainly. I wrote my first novel while I was still at school; a thriller called 'The spoilers'. It was so bad that I duly filed it in the nearest dustbin! Fantasy soon became my main love, though.
My first novel to be published, The Talisman of Wrath, is the first book in a fantasy series. It had it's beginnings way back... hey, why not check out the blog on my website for that particular anecdote? You'll find the whole tale about the genesis of that book there. There's a little bit more info about me as well.
Here's the link:
https://spmuir.com/my-blog/f/i-was-re...
And why not also click the link to my amazon page? You'll find more details about all my books there as well. It's:
https://www.amazon.co.uk/S.-P.-Muir/e...
Or why not ask me a question?
If you've read any of the 'Saga of the twins of Arl' books, you might want to ask about how they measure time and distance. Even about the religious beliefs of the different races in that world.
I might even let you in on the secret of how old I am. Shhh! don't tell anyone.
Speak to you soon, I hope.
My name is Stephen Peter Muir, I live at the edge of England's beautiful Lake District National Park with my beautiful wife, Rosemary. I won't say quite how old I am, but Noah says to tell you all, 'hi.'
"So what about your writing, Stephen?" I hear you ask. It's funny, but it seems I began writing as soon as I could hold a pen. Poetry and short stories mainly. I wrote my first novel while I was still at school; a thriller called 'The spoilers'. It was so bad that I duly filed it in the nearest dustbin! Fantasy soon became my main love, though.
My first novel to be published, The Talisman of Wrath, is the first book in a fantasy series. It had it's beginnings way back... hey, why not check out the blog on my website for that particular anecdote? You'll find the whole tale about the genesis of that book there. There's a little bit more info about me as well.
Here's the link:
https://spmuir.com/my-blog/f/i-was-re...
And why not also click the link to my amazon page? You'll find more details about all my books there as well. It's:
https://www.amazon.co.uk/S.-P.-Muir/e...
Or why not ask me a question?
If you've read any of the 'Saga of the twins of Arl' books, you might want to ask about how they measure time and distance. Even about the religious beliefs of the different races in that world.
I might even let you in on the secret of how old I am. Shhh! don't tell anyone.
Speak to you soon, I hope.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
January 22, 2021
S.P. Muir has written a compelling story following four main characters when, through each ones’ prayers their lives end up intertwining. Each character has an awakening that propels them to the same town. I found it interesting how the story was set first in present time with each character, then suddenly back story was given to fill the reader in, then back to present time.
The story deals with real life situations even though the book is fiction. The reader may see himself in these characters or relate in some way. It deals with difficult situations. Some are very sad, but there is triumph in the end. There were times I was brought to tears, but times of rejoicing along with a character, as well.
Each chapter opens with a scripture verse pertinent to that chapter and character. This book gives a wonderful explanation of salvation and the love of God. It is also a good reminder as to what loving your fellow man truly is.
Something I enjoy in Muir’s writing is experiencing British spellings, words, phrases, and sayings that are not used in America. They are generally easy to figure out or understand and fun to read. I greatly appreciate and enjoyed this book.
Merged review:
S.P. Muir has written a compelling story following four main characters when through each ones’ prayers their lives end up intertwining.. Each character has an awakening that propels them to the same town. I found it interesting how the story was set first in present time with each character, then suddenly back story was given to fill the reader in, then back to present time.
The story deals with real life situations even though the book is fiction. The reader may see himself in these characters or relate in some way. It deals with difficult life situations. Some are very sad, but there is triumph in the end. There were times I was brought to tears, but times of rejoicing along with a character, as well.
Each chapter opens with a scripture verse pertinent to that chapter and character. This book gives a wonderful explanation of salvation and the love of God. It’s also a good reminder as to what loving your fellow man truly is.
Something I enjoy in Muir’s writing is experiencing British spellings, words, phrases, and sayings that are not used in America. They are generally easy to figure out or understand and fun to read. I greatly appreciate and enjoyed this book.
The story deals with real life situations even though the book is fiction. The reader may see himself in these characters or relate in some way. It deals with difficult situations. Some are very sad, but there is triumph in the end. There were times I was brought to tears, but times of rejoicing along with a character, as well.
Each chapter opens with a scripture verse pertinent to that chapter and character. This book gives a wonderful explanation of salvation and the love of God. It is also a good reminder as to what loving your fellow man truly is.
Something I enjoy in Muir’s writing is experiencing British spellings, words, phrases, and sayings that are not used in America. They are generally easy to figure out or understand and fun to read. I greatly appreciate and enjoyed this book.
Merged review:
S.P. Muir has written a compelling story following four main characters when through each ones’ prayers their lives end up intertwining.. Each character has an awakening that propels them to the same town. I found it interesting how the story was set first in present time with each character, then suddenly back story was given to fill the reader in, then back to present time.
The story deals with real life situations even though the book is fiction. The reader may see himself in these characters or relate in some way. It deals with difficult life situations. Some are very sad, but there is triumph in the end. There were times I was brought to tears, but times of rejoicing along with a character, as well.
Each chapter opens with a scripture verse pertinent to that chapter and character. This book gives a wonderful explanation of salvation and the love of God. It’s also a good reminder as to what loving your fellow man truly is.
Something I enjoy in Muir’s writing is experiencing British spellings, words, phrases, and sayings that are not used in America. They are generally easy to figure out or understand and fun to read. I greatly appreciate and enjoyed this book.
April 17, 2021
This is a beautifully written book with some well-painted characters and a great storyline. I particularly enjoyed the relationship between Derek and Catherine. People all have their own problems, some worse than others and the author suggests that though God doesn't answer all our prayers in the way we expect, he does care and helps when it is of benefit to us.
I'm not particularly religious, but anyone could read this book, whether they believe in God or not, and enjoy the interaction between the characters and the development at the end.
A good read!
I'm not particularly religious, but anyone could read this book, whether they believe in God or not, and enjoy the interaction between the characters and the development at the end.
A good read!
February 4, 2021
The prolific S. P. Muir serves up a surprise with this one, showing he is nothing if not versatile. A relative newcomer, he first hit the scene in 2014 with volume 1 of the fantasy epic The Twins Of Arl, following it up with two more instalments of classic Lord Of The Rings-styled sword and sorcery. In the meantime, he also stumped up two non-fiction volumes of memoirs regarding his time as a despatch rider in London.
Now he takes another 90-degree turn with this Christian novel. The story involves four men from widely differing backgrounds, who are all moved to open up to the almighty in heartfelt prayer for one reason or another, and what happens in their lives as a direct result.
It's important to note that this is a full-on Christian tale and has to be accepted as such. The existence of God and Christ, or their interest in creation, may be questioned by characters in the story, but is never questioned by the author. The purpose of the tale is not to examine the issue of whether God exists, or whether He answers prayers, but rather to examine the way in which people respond to such answers. The answer is always given, and although it may not be the response one expects or wants, it is still always the right answer.
It’s not a classic happy-ever-after tale either, and attempts at all times to reflect the world as it really is, with all the faults and foibles of its inhabitants. In the end, it really doesn’t matter whether the reader believes in the basic premise or not, seeing as it’s fairly unlikely they would believe in the fantasy universe of Arl either. The non-believer can read this one as pure fantasy and still enjoy it; the believer will no doubt recognise his or her own life in it somewhere or other and maybe even learn from it. Hopefully both will find it uplifting and ultimately hopeful, as I did.
Now he takes another 90-degree turn with this Christian novel. The story involves four men from widely differing backgrounds, who are all moved to open up to the almighty in heartfelt prayer for one reason or another, and what happens in their lives as a direct result.
It's important to note that this is a full-on Christian tale and has to be accepted as such. The existence of God and Christ, or their interest in creation, may be questioned by characters in the story, but is never questioned by the author. The purpose of the tale is not to examine the issue of whether God exists, or whether He answers prayers, but rather to examine the way in which people respond to such answers. The answer is always given, and although it may not be the response one expects or wants, it is still always the right answer.
It’s not a classic happy-ever-after tale either, and attempts at all times to reflect the world as it really is, with all the faults and foibles of its inhabitants. In the end, it really doesn’t matter whether the reader believes in the basic premise or not, seeing as it’s fairly unlikely they would believe in the fantasy universe of Arl either. The non-believer can read this one as pure fantasy and still enjoy it; the believer will no doubt recognise his or her own life in it somewhere or other and maybe even learn from it. Hopefully both will find it uplifting and ultimately hopeful, as I did.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews