Customer Reviews

Prayers from the Heart

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

A rich collection of prayers from a variety of sources, including some of Foster's own. Periodically the prayers seem abstracted from my own life (though this is to be expected, I suppose, as they reflect prayers especially from Foster's heart), but mostly the prayers in this book are inspiring, deepening, and give words through which one can speak, and listen, to God. I've especially appreciated taking a particular prayer, memorizing it, and reflecting on it with God over the course of several days. Several of the prayers became life-changing through God's tender touch in those times. I actually lost my first copy. Purchasing a secon copy is well worth it. An excellent and rewarding book.

Foster has a heart for God, and to know Him fully, and these beautiful prayers written over hundreds of years reflect his keen insight into those who have lived their lives in total dedication to loving and serving Christ.

St. Patrick, Julian of Norwich, and Soren Kierkegaard are just a few of the names that have prayers in this book. These are their heartfelt prayers, reflecting a life of contemplation and seeking to know God in a more complete way.

I have given this little book to others as gifts, and have read the prayers at church gatherings, and have given book reviews, and all are favorably received. This is a jewel of a book.

Life's journey is described in this book in great detail. Any problem one could have is described at length in this book, also good times for praise. Poetry, Bible verses and other prayers make this book a delight and a pick-up for those sad, lonely times or the times where praise is appropriate. Wonderful!

Foster offers up in this work a heart-felt collection of prayers. He includes sources from quite the breadth of traditions, but does stay within the broad bounds of Christianity.

People should look in this book for expressions of a soul's feeling rather than any rationale as to how one should pray. It seems to me the focus of this collection is how we want to approach God, rather than be concerned with how God wants to be approached. The ecumenical reader will likely appreciate this book more than anyone who has an appreciation for thought-out Biblical doctrine.

I have previously read Foster's "Celebration of Discipline," which was a profound and insightful book that I hope to reread in the future. I had expected a similar experience with this book of prayers. I was sorely disappointed.

This book consists primarily of Foster's own prayers, written down to be shared with the reader. These prayers demonstrate a very personal and genuine faith, and that sense bleeds from every page. However, I found the experience of reading those personal prayers to be very disjointed and impersonal to me. Personal prayer is, by definition, a very individualized experience. Rather than corporate prayers, which are meant to be prayed by others and by groups, these prayers were great for Richard Foster, but they did not resonate with me.

The highlight of the book was some of the prayers that Foster quoted from various saints of the church, like Francis of Assisi. Those prayers, prayed by others throughout the ages, had a resonance of history and time that made them more meaningful than a prayer that Foster wrote late one night while staying in a hotel in Singapore.

I appreciate the work of Richard Foster and admire his faith. I just failed to connect with this book and would not really recommend it to anyone other than those interested in an abridged study of pray from the history of the church.

I love this book from the first time i was introduced to it. A lecturer used it every day to open his class. The prayers while lovely seemed an opening to another way of conversing with God when sometimes you'vce lost your voice or don't know what to say. It is rich and conversational. I have brought heaps of this book and they make the perfect gift to give when someone is struggling with life, or you just really like the person and want to share in a found treasure. The only thing missing was a worthy book mark, which i of course have added to just finish the book of in all it's loveliness. P.S. Even blokes like it.

Foster's helpful prayerbook contains many prayers that have been passed down in the church, as well as many of Foster's own writings. His own prayers easily felt as if they had become my own due to their heartfelt honesty. In this book you will certainly find a book that resonates with your condition. I recommend this book highly. Besides the Book of Common Prayer, I have not seen another book of prayers that has so insightfully led me to a helpful posture before God.

This collection of prayers, dating from early Christianity to current days, including original prayers by Richard Foster himself, is a wonderful inspiration, to be read and "prayed" slowly and thoughtfully. The emphasis is not theological so much as spiritual, addressing many needs, situations, times of year and life. One of my favorites begins: "I am, O God, a jumbled mass of motives. One moment I am adoring you, and the next I am shaking my fist at you", and ends with "Thank you for accepting me with all my contradictions." How refreshingly honest, so reminiscent of the Psalmists.

I was so disappointed in this book. I don't find a closeness to God in the pages. Instead it seems intellectual. It contains beautiful sounding prayers that are more like poetry than speaking with God face to face. Even though it contains prayers from across the ages it seems to keep me distant from the personal God I seek. And though the author's prayers are included too, I feel the same about them. I expected more from Richard J. Foster.

I was very disappointed in this book. Everything I read about it before purchasing it sounded so good. It was dry and boring. I probably only read about twenty pages and decided not to torture myself anymore.