Everyday Prayers: 365 Days to a Gospel-Centered Faith [Paperback]

Scotty Smith (Author), Tullian Tchividjian (Foreword)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 1, 2011

How would life be different if we could think, see, and do all things in light of the person and work of Jesus? With this inspiring collection of 365 Scripture-centered prayers, Scotty Smith helps readers pray the Scriptures through the lens of the gospel, mining the resources of God's grace and applying them in every season of life. He frees readers to abandon any posing or pretending in favor of an honest, no-spin relationship with a God who claims them as his own.

Each day includes a Scripture reference and an inspirational original prayer, born from both moments of great faith and moments of crisis. Like a modern-day book of Psalms, Everyday Prayers is a year's worth of growing in grace that readers will lean on year after year.

Editorial Reviews

From the Back Cover

One year to a more intimate relationship with God

How would life be different if you could think, see, and do all things in light of the person and work of Jesus? With this inspiring collection of 365 Scripture-centered prayers, pastor Scotty Smith helps you pray the Scriptures through the lens of the gospel, mining the great resources of God's grace and applying them in every season of your life. No posing. No pretending. Just an honest, no-spin relationship with a God who claims you as his own.

Each day includes a Scripture reference and an inspirational original prayer, born from moments of great faith and times of crisis. Like a modern-day book of Psalms, Everyday Prayers is a pathway to growing in grace that you will want to explore year after year.


"Knowing Scotty has been one of God's greatest gifts of grace. Being able to 'boldly approach our Father's throne' with this friend every morning through these prayers has been a treasure. We believe these prayers will prove to be some of the richest moments of your day."--Mary Beth and Steven Curtis Chapman

"Scotty's prayers blast my heart every day with the good news and radical implications of Jesus' love for us. Whether Scotty is leading us to pray about the struggles in our hearts, God's work in the world, the beauty of creation, or the taste of good food, Jesus is the focus and hero of all these prayers."--Michael W. Smith

About the Author

Scotty Smith is founding pastor of Christ Community Church (PCA) in Franklin, Tennessee, and has seen its membership grow to over 3,000 (including many notable CCM musicians and insiders). He has also planted five daughter churches in the Nashville area. Scotty is also an adjunct professor at Covenant Theological Seminary and regularly teaches at Reformed Theological Seminary in Orlando. He is the author of five books, including Speechless and Restoring Broken Things with Steven Curtis Chapman.

Product Details

• Paperback: 384 pages
• Publisher: Baker Books (September 1, 2011)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0801014042
• ISBN-13: 978-0801014048
• Product Dimensions: 5.5 x 1 x 8.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 15.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (50 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #90,617 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Praying with Scripture in mind September 28, 2011

By Dr Conrade Yap

Format:Kindle Edition

Wow! This book is a gift for the Church. It integrates prayer with Scripture. It weaves cultural understanding with a keen awareness of the times. It packs theology with daily practical applications. Most of all, it focuses attention on God without taking one's eyes off earthly needs.

For each day, Scotty Smith writes a 1-page prayer, beginning with a short Scripture passage. Whether the prayer is in the first, second, or third person, the focus is always directed to God. There are prayers of anticipation (Jan 1), of pain and suffering (Feb 2), for being more Jesus-centered (Mar 14), for clarity (Apr 10), on suicidal fears (May 1), on working hard (May 25), and many more. Smith journals his prayers honestly from his heart, intentionally toward God, and compassionately with the world he loves.

I like this particular phrase that Scotty makes:

"Indeed the central and operative questions in life is not 'What would Jesus do if he were here?' Rather, it is 'What is Jesus doing?' since he is right here, and everywhere else, right now." (14)

How true.

There are so many ways this book can be used. As a devotional, one starts the day with Jesus, trusting one's emotional and spiritual needs to God. As a meditation, one clings on to the Scripture passage which directs the day's prayer focus. As a prayer, one internalizes the needs of the world with the feelings inside the heart. Regardless of the ups and downs in daily living, this book enables readers to journey strongly in faith and in confidence that God is in charge. The book can also be used for public prayer, like the congregational prayer in churches.

Fresh. Intentional. Biblical. Brilliant. If you buy this book, do not let it sit on your bookshelves. Keep it by your bedside. Pray with it. Mark it. Meditate on Scripture with it. If you are looking to pay more attention to God, this book is like turning a key on our ignition engine to start our vehicle of prayer.

Rating: 4.5 stars of 5.

conrade

"Book has been provided courtesy of Baker Publishing Group and Graf-Martin Communications, Inc. Available at your favourite bookseller from Baker Books, a division of Baker Publishing Group".

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Tremendously Helpful January 2, 2013

By Tim Challies TOP 500 REVIEWER

Format:Paperback

One morning Scotty Smith decided he would open up the Bible, turn on his laptop, and begin praying through some of his favorite verses of Scripture. In order to force himself to move at a slow pace and in order to help with his concentration, he elected to type out these prayers. A few weeks later this had become a habit and from there a discipline and a delight. He began to share select prayers with a few friends, then with a list of people and then on a blog. I have often linked to or reprinted those prayers. Baker has now taken 365 of them and compiled them in a book aptly titled Everyday Prayers. What has always appealed to me about Smith's prayers is that, compared to some other prayer books (such as The Valley of Vision) they are just so normal; they are in the language I use every day. For that reason I find them tremendously helpful.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Refreshing Gospel Feast! December 10, 2011

By Austin Nelson

Format:Paperback

I received Everyday Prayers: 365 Days to a Gospel-Centered Faith by Scotty Smith unexpectedly. It's funny how life works sometimes. Let me explain. I found a gift card in my dresser from a local Christian book store in my town. I figured it didn't have any money left on it, but to my surprise I found out I had $13 on it! After looking around the bookstore I decided to get this book. I'm so glad I did!

Everyday Prayers is also a book that Scotty did not intend to write. He started writing these prayers as a new way to do his "quiet times". Scotty then began to share his prayers with his friends, then some members of his church family asked him about his prayer devotionals, then he started a small email distribution list, and then a blog. Now we have this book.

The main point of all these prayers is what Scotty calls, "praying the gospel". This book is a passionate plea to understand and experience more of the gospel of God's grace. While many devotional books focus on what we need to do for Jesus, this book focuses on what Jesus did for us. To quote Scotty, "I intentionally always come back to who we are in Christ and who he is in us. Like Luther said, we need the basics of the gospel every day because we forget the gospel every day."

What I also loved about this book was that his prayers came out of meditating on a specific passage of Scripture. At the top of every page is a passage from God's word and then the prayer follows. I have benefited the most from this book when I actually get my Bible out and read the passage for myself first and then read the prayer.

I so agree with the other reviewer who said this book is a gift for the church. I have gone through Spurgeon's Morning and Evening devotional and it was a blessing, but I believe this book has the potential to do greater things.

I know we all live busy lives. But reading one of these prayers everyday will only take you 15 to 30 minutes depending on how deep you go with it. You will be encouraged in the gospel of Jesus, you will treasure Jesus more, and you will long for Jesus to come back triumphantly to reign forever with his bride!