A Rhythm of Prayer

I loved this selection of prayers and calls to prayer. The writing is powerful and disruptive in the best way. After the year we've had and how 2021 is shaping up to be - it's a must read.

This is rest for the soul, an invitation to come to God which is both honest and beautiful. Each chapter contains scripture, an essay and/or prayer - some are prayers I felt I could use directly in my own prayers, others seemed more like personal memoir, but all made me think, reflect; all brought me to God.

The voices included are theologically diverse, but lean towards progressive faith, which won’t be for everyone. Prayer is very personal, but I found it challenging and encouraging to read and reflect on the rhythms of prayer from women whose expression is faith very differently from mine.

I received this book as a free copy in exchange for a review from NetGalley.

I thought this was a great collection of prayers and meditations, although like some previous NetGalley books, I think my experience was diminished by the fact it was an ebook not a physical copy (this is in no way a reflection on the book itself, I just feel like it would lend itself better to something physical).

The book is comprised of contributions from a number of well-known and not so well-known (to me at least) authors, but although I couldn’t directly relate to each chapter, I could tell each one was written filled with heart and soul. Some were written to be read as a prayer, some as a guide to prayer, some as a meditation on how the author experiences prayer.

What the book wasn’t, was a book of straightforward prayers you could just reel off before you go to bed. It was full of challenge and things to make you think more deeply. It was full of ideas to make you think more creatively about the way that you’re praying. For example, one of the ideas was written in the form of a recipe which was so inspired and completely unique.

I think if I read this book a hundred times, a hundred different things would resonate with me, it’s the kind of book you want to come back to again and again to feel lifted and provoked into action by the words contained within.

I would like to share a couple of my favourite quotes, to give you a flavour of what you might expect:

“They prayed living room prayers because you don’t have to be inside the four walls of a church to cry out to the God who made you. Because no matter where you sing or scream or whisper God’s ears can hear you. And despite what the laws say or what our human flaws say God’s ears don’t play favourites.”

Isn’t this a perfect prayer for the situation we find ourselves in now, all separated from each other and from the church building we would usually gather in. How comforting to be reminded that God can always hear us.

“You don’t have to be productive and you don’t have to change the world. You’re already so loved.

You don’t have to be smart. You don’t have to be simple. You don’t have to read all the right books by the right people. You’re already so loved."

I could share many more quotes, they’re all saved in my phone for me to come back to when I need reminding of how loved I am and how precious my relationship with God is. But I would whole-heartedly recommend you pick up a copy of this book. If it’s physical, make use of the journalling space at the back, and just savour the beautiful words within.

This book is a gorgeous collection of prayers from a huge range of women across the Christian faith. The prayers come in many forms - an essay, prose, poem, call and response, and so on. Some are funny, some are deeply raw, some are like soft peacegiving balms. The topics range from the mundane every day, to social justice, to grief, to holiness, and so much more. Every piece gave me something unique.

Due to the diversity involved, I don't think anyone could read it without finding some of the pieces outside of their comfort zone. Whether that's due to the liturgy, or which pronouns are used for God, or the instructions to "(insert time to ugly cry)". But I think that's part of the point. It's to sit in prayer with those who have really different faith experiences, but who love the same God. It's to sit and listen a get a peak at what different relationships with him are like. It's to expand and reimagine what prayer can look like. I think most Christians would say they are bad at prayer, and one thing this book certainly shows is that there is no one right way to engage personally with God. Just that different approaches maybe highlight different aspects of his character more, or meet your needs in that moment better. Either way, this book was good for the depths of my soul, and I am definitely going to get a physical copy that I can hold in my hands when I dip into it again.

I love the diversity represented by the authors of the prayers. Although I believe they are all cisgendered women, they represent many different cultural backgrounds, sexualities and several are people with disabilities. They also come from a number of different church traditions, although predominantly from America and a fair number are from evangelical denominations. For me it was powerful to read these reflections from a range of different voices, whose experiences may be very different from my own, yet they resonated with me. These are also voices that are not always given enough time and space within our churches. The prayers and reflections on prayer are drawn from real life, in all its beauty and confusingness. As I put my roots down deeper into the Anglican church, I am growing more familiar with the power of liturgy for when you can’t find the right words yourself. This book for me is already being incorporated into my ministry as an ordinand, and will be a resource I return to repeatedly through the course of my ministry. One of the reflections – ‘A Reminder’ by Sarah Bessey – I have already used in a church service I was leading and with my tutor group (I also heartily recommended the book on both occasions). I really loved this book, so much so that I have already bought a hard copy. It came at a time when I really needed it, and I know I will frequently return to it and by nourished by it throughout my life and ministry.

There are some really beautiful prayers, laments and reflections in this timely and thoughtfully curated collection by Sarah Bessey. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC.

Utterly beautiful. Sarah Bessey sets out to recreate the prayer circles that have influenced and shaped her. She does this not with prescriptive prayer but by sharing the wisdom, witness and love of the people around her. I thought I needed a prayer book, but what I needed was someone to show me that its OK to crawl back to God in prayer, tired, run down and always always welcome. I will be buying a paper copy of this to flick through, love and guide me.