Psalms: The Prayer Book of the Bible [Paperback]

Dietrich Bonhoeffer (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 1974

An illuminating study of prayer using the Psalms as a guidebook.

Product Details

• Paperback: 88 pages
• Publisher: Augsburg Fortress Pub (January 1974)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0806614390
• ISBN-13: 978-0806614397
• Product Dimensions: 6 x 4.2 x 0.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (17 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #20,908 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #1 in Books > 4-for-3 Books > Religion & Spirituality > Christianity > Reference > Theology
  • #3 in Books > 4-for-3 Books > Religion & Spirituality > Christianity > Reference > General
  • #5 in Books > 4-for-3 Books > Religion & Spirituality > Christianity > Worship & Devotion > Meditations

More About the Author

Dietrich Bonhoeffer was born in Breslau in 1906. The son of a famous German psychiatrist, he studied in Berlin and New York City. He left the safety of America to return to Germany and continue his public repudiation of the Naz*s, which led to his arrest in 1943. Linked to the group of conspirators whose attempted assassination of Hitlerr failed, he was hanged in April 1945.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

203 of 205 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Praying with Christ, November 17, 2003

By 

Joshua V. Schneider (Hawaii) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Psalms: The Prayer Book of the Bible (Paperback)

In this beautiful little book, Bonhoeffer guides the Christian to the Scriptures for lessons in how to pray. He affirms that the Lord's Prayer is the primary prayer of the Christian, which he asserts contains every prayer that a Christian ought to pray. Bonhoeffer also makes a startling but wise claim that jolts us out of the narrowness of our focus in prayer: "The richness of the Word of God ought to determine our prayer, not the poverty of our heart." Thus we find the book of Psalms to be a rich treasury of prayers that are part of God's inspired word, and therefore a true place to learn how God would have us pray.

The book proceeds to give some general background on the history and use of the Psalms as the prayer book of the Bible. In the main part of the book he presents one possible system of categorizing the Psalms according to their petitions, and also points out that they can be organized according to the petitions of the Lord's Prayer. But the most valuable part of the book, in my opinion, is how he shows us how the Psalms are to be prayed in Christ, of whom the Psalms also testify (Luke 24:44). As Bonhoeffer says, "It is the incarnate Son of God, who has borne every human weakness in his own flesh, who here pours out the heart of all humanity before God, and who stands in our place and prays for us."

This is a fine book for the devotional/prayer life of the Christian.

108 of 117 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars How to pray the psalms with confidence and love, January 3, 2000

By 

John B. Morgan III "john4" (Austin, Texas) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Psalms: The Prayer Book of the Bible (Paperback)

Dietrich Bonhoeffer, hung by the Nazis for his principled resistance to perversion of Christian life, leads us through the themes and value of psalms. These song-prayers, brought forth from thousands of years of human longing for connection with God, are just as powerful in their meaning of human life, today. Use this tiny volume as a study guide to psalm themes for better prayer life.

38 of 40 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars A good introduction to the Psalmnody, August 13, 2008

By 

James Huffman "Jim Huffman" (Burlington, NC USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Psalms: The Prayer Book of the Bible (Paperback)

This is one of those good books that actually treat the Psalms for what they are: prayers. Many introductions and commentaries neglect this, treating the Psalms as though they were history, instruction or whatever. While history, instruction and a lot else is in the Psalms, their primary purpose is that we may pray after God, speaking His words back to Him.

The best introduction to the Psalms is probably to begin praying them, perhaps with the help of a good prayer book. But if someone's really green, this book will provide an understanding of the different types of Psalms, different human authors within the Psalmnody, and an overview of some of the difficulties we perceive within the Psalms.

My big complaint with the book is Bonhoeffer's occasional over-emphasis on his perceived need to pray (using the Psalms in this case) against an also-perceived wrath of God. This reflects an unfortunate -- in my opinion -- emphasis, one likely stemming from his Lutheran background. But it's a relatively minor issue with the book.

This book is a quick (it could easily be finished in an hour), easy read. The book's also divided into sections which could be used as subjects for daily meditation or for a series of classes.