book review number 2

My first book review was a few weeks ago on Christopher Mcdougall's Born to Run, a definite life changer! and since then i've been steadily reading and running along in my vibram fivefingers looking for the next book that could equally spark my spirits. Of the ten or so books Ive read since BTR only one has deserved the attention of my fellow bloggies :) I started reading it a few days ago (when i caught the plague and scored lots of couch time) and couldn't put it down.

"On Earth as it is in Heaven" is an awesome read for all my Christian friends, and anyone who has ever recited the Lord's Prayer and wondered "whats that all about?". This prayer is typically memorized by anyone who has set foot in a church a few times, often said rhythmically, without much thought or attention. This book was amazing because it truly helped me to value the words ive known and said many times putting thought into each and every line. This is no repetitive prayer to be said casually, this is the one prayer hand picked by Jesus for us as our model for prayer anytime and every time. It is an amazing and often overlooked gift.

I realized while reading that all of my children didnt know how to recite the Lord's prayer. Guilty mom totally accepts responsibility for that one!! and the book also shed some light on the prayer's history cited a few non-divinely inspired accounts of the early church. It has been recorded that the disciples and their followers recited the Lord's prayer at every gathering! and many Gentiles (hey thats me :) of the day often said it 3 times a day similar to the way Muslims pray today.

The fear of many modern churches is that this would cause Christians to devalue the Lord's Prayer and not give it the reverence it deserves. Well heck, imo that has already happened. I absolutely have recited it without blinking giving no thought to the words coming out of my mouth at times. I assume I'm not alone in my folly. Thats why i loved this book. It took the time to teach me the meanings and origins behind every line and every word. I can never again utter "thy kingdom come" without knowing why and thinking towards the future.

The book challenged me much like BTR did, to make some life altering changes. My personal goal this week will be to say the Lord's prayer with thought and reverence 3 times daily. Shouldn't be too hard right, for a mom of 5 to find 3 times of solice to be still and know that he is God?? well the book gave me some help here as well! The author took the time to remind us that the Lord's prayer is a family prayer. Sure it can be said in solitude (I'm hoping atleast one of my 3 times a day will be), but it is above all a prayer given to the family both biological and otherwise. After all Jesus wasn't alone in the garden silently praying, He was sharing this with his friends , his brothers. The Lord's Prayer starts of with "Our father" not "My father" showing us that it is the prayer to share :) so for the next week or so we will replace our nightly blessing with the Lord's Prayer serving many purposes. Glorifying the Father, Teaching the prayer to our children, Placing it daily upon our hearts, and last but not least, blessing the food to the nourishment of our bodies :)

I was reminded throughout this book of things I already knew but sometimes forget. When you dont know how to pray, when you don't know what to say, God always delivers. It is NEVER the wrong time to pray the Lord's prayer. When you have that friend who needs you but you have no words, when you have been asked to pray but are nervous, when you want to spend time with him but just dont know what to say , use it! That is what He gave it to us for and their is nothing more powerful than praying His words as long as you do so with reverence.

So back to the book review, "On Earth as it is in Heaven by Warren W. Wiersbe" is another life changer challenging me to do a better job today than I did yesterday :) and I love it! too bad i didn't read this before I went on that skyride at the zoo :)

and now for the best part.....its free today on amazon Kindle :)