Prayers for the Pilgrimage is W. David O Taylor's first collection of written prayers. Though Taylor has written several other books relating to his professional expertise in theology and the arts, I did not know of him until coming across this book. Each prayer follows the form of a collect, which is an ancient form of written prayer used for corporate worship and devotional life. While Taylor began this practice of writing collects during the pandemic, his prayers are as relevant now as ever. Prayers for the Pilgrimage includes a variety of prayers that are distinct, creative, personal, and faithful to Scripture and faithful to Christian tradition. As a full-time pastor, I appreciate being able to utilize pre-written prayers and liturgies specific to the season of the Church Year, Scripture, or situation. The InterVarsity Press team did an excellent job in organizing Taylor's prayers so that it is easy to locate prayers that fit cohesively with worship. In addition, Taylor's collects are illumined by beautiful illustrations created prayerfully by his wife, Phaedra.

Taylor's Prayers for the Pilgrimage is reminiscent of books like Every Moment Holy and Common Prayer. In addition, he guides the reader through writing their own collects at the conclusion of the book. While these prayers are helpful for me as a pastor, they are in no way limited to clergy. I would recommend this to any person who wants to incorporate written prayers into their personal devotions or wants to expand their prayer life.

There are many prayers I loved but one that spoke to me specifically was "For Not Being Proud of Oneself" (p. 162).
"O Lord, you who resist the proud but give grace to the humble, help me, I pray, to think neither too much nor too little of myself this day, so that I might be fully at home in my own skin, grateful for what I am by grace, no more and no less. I pray this in the name of the One who has made me fearfully and wonderfully so." -W. David O. Taylor

Thank you InterVarsity Press and NetGalley for providing a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All opinions expressed in this review are my own.

"Prayers for the Pilgrimage" is a delightful resource for believers, offering a wide range of prayers suited for every season and event life throws our way. It's a gem for those moments when our spiritual walk feels dry or when words fail us. I would say this book of prayers is a bit more casual and modern compared to many traditional prayers that are very reverent and rich in theology. This is the type of book that would be wonderful to add alongside your daily Bible reading if you are new to liturgy but would like to start incorporating it into your spiritual life.

W. David O. Taylor provides well-crafted prayers for all major liturgical celebrations, as well as a wide variety of everyday experiences. His prayers consider the lived experience of the reader, connecting the human experience with the divine. It truly bridges the sacred and profane, helping us see God in the midst of the smallness of our lives.

There are many different ways that Christians can pray. From Sunday worship time to daily thanksgiving over a meal, prayer is a sign of devotion to God. It is a reminder that for all of our talents and know-how, we still need God. Many Christians learn to pray using the ACTS acronym: Adoration-Confession-Thanksgiving-Supplication. Each of them helps us focus on a particular form of prayer. Whether it is for worship or prayers for forgiveness, gratitude, or request, we can connect with God in all circumstances of life. For the most part, people have understood prayer in terms of asking for things, especially when they are in dire need. Realizing this great need, author David Taylor has collected a series of prayers for all occasions and for all of life. He calls these "collect prayers." What is a "Prayer of Collect?" There are written prayers focused on a specific item. Traditionally, the mainline churches like the Roman Catholics, the Anglicans, and other Protestant churches have used the term "collect" as a way to describe collecting all forms of prayer requests, needs, and desires for God to take action. It recognizes that God loves His people and this world and the prayer is a way to connect us with God, trusting that He knows and will assure us that things will be well, even when we feel helpless and hopeless.

There are prayers for daily events, every Church occasion, every season of life, prayers in times of births/deaths, sickness/healing, work, worship, spiritual needs, creative work, public life, school, for the world, and every conceivable area of life. There are children's prayers, Celtic prayers, prayers for both private and public life, for self, for the Church, and even for the "nobodies in the world." I like how Taylor puts it, that prayers do not require one to live a pious life. The main requirement is to simply "show up" and be honest before God.

My Thoughts
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First, I want to thank Taylor for shining a new light on the use of collect prayers. There are many prayer practices that we can recover from the past, and the prayer of collects is one of them. Though some denominations still use them, for many of the modern independent churches who have ventured away from their mainline parents, it is a way to remind these churches that there is a lot that can be learned from tradition. By linking each need and turning it into a prayer, believers can learn to pray in all circumstances, practicing the principle of 1 Thess 5:17 to pray without ceasing. Taylor takes the trouble to describe and define what these prayers are. He even includes a chapter in the appendix to show us how to write our own collects. Whatever it is, Taylor reminds us to anchor our prayers on the Word of God. Each collect prayer need not be long. Truthfulness is more important than length.

Second, Taylor reminds us that prayer is more an art than a science. In our technological world where knowledge and know-how seem to occupy most of our thought space, learning to pray remains a fundamental aspect of spiritual life. Needs in general might spur us to want to pray. Hopefully, we will not be stuck on needs-driven prayers but on cultivating a deeper longing for God. This in itself is an art. What is also helpful are the illustrations by his wife Phaedra to help us linger in the prayer space and pause for the opportunity for our souls to meet God's Spirit. No words are necessary. Just the desire to linger in the presence of God. Let our desire for God lead us toward authentic prayers, to plead for a deeper relationship with God. What Taylor has done is to take a particular area of focus, and use it effectively to shine a light on God's character, desire, faith, hope, and love. I like the way he crafts biblical truths into the intercessional prayers.

Finally, this book can spur us to craft and create our prayers. The more personal we make our prayers, the deeper the connection with God. By showing us the plethora of different opportunities to turn moments into prayers, it is hoped that readers and believers can learn to do the same for each and every moment in their lives. If this book can cultivate a deeper form of prayer, it would have worth the price of the book. Whether one is a trained seminarian, a minister, a long-time believer, or a relatively new believer, this book has something for everyone. The late professor-author, Eugene Peterson used to say: "Spirituality is learning to notice the ordinary." This book is an extension of that very phrase.

W. David O. Taylor (ThD, Duke Divinity School) is Associate Professor of Theology and Culture at Fuller Theological Seminary and the author of several books, including A Body of Praise, and Glimpses of the New Creation; he is also the editor of For the Beauty of the Church as well as co-editor of Contemporary Art and the Church and of The Art of New Creation.
Rating: 4.5 stars out of 5.

conrade
This book has been provided courtesy of InterVarsity Press via NetGalley without requiring a positive review. All opinions offered above are mine unless otherwise stated or implied.

Quite a nice collection of short form prayers (collects). They are routed in American Anglicanism so for those from other countries and denominations they may appear a little parochial. That said the wise variety of situations covered should mean that a suitable prayer should either be forthcoming or may be easily adapted.

This is a helpful prayer book that has prayers that encompass many different aspects of life from prayers for different events on the church calendar (easter, lent, advent) to prayers for things like a job interview or even after mass shooting. I really appreciate all of the different scenarios and aspects of life that prayers have been written for. I also enjoyed the artwork that accompanied the prayers.
The only minor drawback that I saw with this book is mostly a personal preference, which is that the prayers sometimes felt a little too formal and I would've preferred that they feel more a bit more natural in how I would normally pray.
Overall, I think this is a book of prayer definitely worth checking out and using throughout the year.

There are hundreds of prayers in this book. I'm sure many, perhaps most of them will speak to many readers. I was hoping I would be one of them. Unfortunately, I was generally underwhelmed. Fewer than 10 leapt off the page at me. And that's as someone who deeply loves the collects in The Book of Common Prayer. Perhaps it's just a matter of wrong reader, wrong book, and/or wrong time. The final prayer of the book is, in my opinion, by far the best one and one that I'll be revisiting.

This is a lovely book of prayers. They are fashioned after collect prayers, which are short little prayers used by the church. Here are prayers for many different times and moments throughout the day. There are prayers for morning and evening; prayers for holidays; prayers for even unexpected events; and prayers for the creative besides many more. And not only are there words to direct your heart, but Phaedra has beautiful illustrations too for your eyes to dwell on. Such a wonderful little book of prayers.

Wow! What a powerhouse of a book of prayers. I have recently been introduced to the idea of collect prayers and have loved exploring more of them. This book was full of prayers that powerfully spoke the words of my heart in a number of different situations. This is a great book to help springboard you into the presence of God and give words to your heart and soul as you engage with a number of different topics.

I was delighted to be given the opportunity to read David Taylor’s book Prayers for the Pilgramage. From the very beginning I found the introduction informative with references to the former writers of Collects and prayers ( I have an interest in prayers and their content). I also found the references on his inspiration for compiling the prayers and putting them in the form of a book interesting. Having read the book I found the layout of the book helpful in as much that are written for different times of the day week, month and seasons, not with standing the different liturgical events during the year. I also found his wife Phaedra illustrations very inspiring as they added to prayer contemplation and brought to mind psalm 121 which starts “I will lift up mine eyes unto the hills, From whence cometh my help”. I think this book will be very useful to many prayer groups to help them focus on their praying, not only as a group but also as individuals. I recommend this book and I shall be purchasing copy for my own use and a useful reference book.

As a pastor, I am constantly on the lookout for great resources that will help to contribute to not only my spiritual life, but also to the spiritual lives of those under my shepherding. We have made a very intentional move to have a prayer chapel in our church, filled with works that contain the prayers of the faithful from centuries past, works of liturgy to draw our minds and hearts to Christ during the different seasons of the Christian Year, and even collections of prayer and reflection. "Prayers for the Pilgrimage" will fit in nicely with our collection.

Stunning prayers that are so moving and in tune with the world we live in and reflect how I want to be in this world - spirit filled.
The prayers cover the usual dates in the Christian calendar notable lent and advent. They also touch upon lesser know feasts and saints giving a real breadth of prayer to choose from.
The delicate, nature inspired art work and beautiful green splashes of colour helped me reflect and get to a place of tranquility to pray and reflect on the words before me.
A book to keep on the shelf and refer to regularly.

This is a beautiful book of prayers. You can find daily prayers, weekly prayers, prayers for holidays (my favorite is the New Year's prayer after a hard year) and prayers for everyday circumstances. Will be purchasing a copy when it's published.

This is a very interesting book that introduces a style of prayer I had not yet encountered. Not only do I come away with biblical prayers, but also with the knowledge of how to compose my own in the same style. Great book!

"Prayers for the Pilgrimage" by David O. Taylor is an enchanting spiritual journey through the artistry of prayer. Taylor's selection of prayers in this collection is nothing short of stunning; each 'collect' is a thoughtful and articulate gem that speaks directly to the heart.

What truly sets this book apart is its incorporation of art. Surprising and delightful, the gorgeous artwork elevated my overall experience with the book. There is nothing beautiful art can't make better. The book looks modern and chic, something you want to open and show your friends and not hide away at the back of the bookshelf.

Whether seeking solace, guidance or simply reflection, "Prayers for the Pilgrimage" offers a refuge within its pages for at least a moment of spirituality. This book is a treasure trove of beautifully crafted collects. "Prayers for the Pilgrimage" is the perfect prayer companion.