The Barber Who Wanted to Pray [Hardcover]

R. C. Sproul (Author), T. Lively Fluharty (Illustrator)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 16, 2011 | Age Range: 8 and up

This imaginative tale, based on a true story, begins one evening with Mr. McFarland leading family devotions. When his daughter asks him how she should pray, Mr. McFarland shares a 500-year-old story—a story about a barber and his famous customer.

Master Peter is a barber well known to all in his village. One day, when Martin Luther the Reformer walks into his shop, the barber musters up the courage to ask the outlawed monk how to pray. Dr. Luther responds by writing a letter to the barber (a letter that we know today as the book, A Simple Way to Pray!). The barber’s life is changed as he encounters a model for prayer by using the Lord’s Prayer, the Ten Commandments, and the Apostles’ Creed.

R. C. Sproul’s beautifully illustrated story will engage children and help them learn to pray according to the Bible. Dr. Sproul’s unique gift for explaining complex truths will make this a treasured book to be returned to time after time—a delight for both children and their parents!

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

R. C. SPROUL is the founder and president of Ligonier Ministries and serves as senior minister of preaching and teaching at Saint Andrew’s Chapel in Sanford, Florida. His other illustrated books include The Prince’s Poison Cup and The Lightlings.

T. LIVELY FLUHARTY is an accomplished illustrator whose artwork has appeared in numerous publications, including Fool Moon Rising, which he co-wrote with his wife, Kristi. 

Product Details

• Age Range: 8 and up
  
• Hardcover: 40 pages
• Publisher: Crossway (September 16, 2011)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1433527030
• ISBN-13: 978-1433527036
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 0.5 x 10 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (72 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #60,484 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #93 in Books > Children's Books > Religions > Christianity > Bible

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Great Spur to Family Devos October 5, 2011

By Jim Hamilton

Format:Hardcover

If you're needing a little encouragement to do family devotions, or if you're looking to spur someone in that direction, you'll want to get your hands on The Barber Who Wanted to Pray by R. C. Sproul and T. Lively Fluharty. This book is a great encouragement to be reading the Bible, singing the Bible, and especially praying the Bible with our families. And it's beautiful.

The message of the book is simple: pray the ideas in the Lord's prayer, the ten commandments, and the Apostle's Creed. This point is made through a poignant account of an encounter between Martin Luther and his barber, into whose hands Luther put his life. It's only gradually revealed that Luther is the outlaw with the price on his head who sits down in the barber's chair.

I read this book aloud to my older two sons, who have learned a little about Luther and are a little familiar with the reformation. When the moment of revelation came, they gasped aloud, exclaiming, "Martin Luther!" That reaction, for me, was the best part of us reading this book.

What will keep me coming back to this book, and what has me even now marveling at it, turning its pages slowly, are the works of art it contains. Don't get me wrong: I believe in the importance of praying Scripture, and I love stories about Martin Luther. But the paintings by T. Lively Fluharty deserve more contemplation and consideration than can be given as a parent reads this book aloud to children who want to hear how things turn out.

R. C. Sproul has told a great story here, and T. Lively Fluharty brings it alive with lasting beauty.

If you're looking for a good gift as we near the Christmas season, this would be a good book to put in the hands of anyone who has children, anyone who wants to pray, or anyone who might be drawn by great art to the God who works for those who wait for him.

If you like this one, don't miss Fool Moon Rising by Kristi and T. Lively Fluharty (what a name that guy has!).

I don't know if Fluharty has captured the historical circumstances, or if he just has a thing for cats, but judging from his paintings, Luther's town was over-run by them. [There's a mouse in the last painting, and that little guy is glad that these are Muggle paintings. If they were housed in Hogwarts, the cats from previous pages would be on the chase.]

Crossway is committed to truth, goodness, and beauty. You can see it in projects like this one. Praise God for Sproul and Fluharty, and praise God he has given us his own word to pray back to him.

15 of 18 people found the following review helpful

3.0 out of 5 stars Great Truths, Poor Execution November 15, 2011

By ta ethica

Format:Hardcover

Sproul, R.C. The Barber Who Wanted to Pray. Wheaton: Crossway, 2011, 40 pp., hb.*

In previous books written for children, Sproul has communicated great truths such as the imputation of Christ's righteousness, Christ propitiating God's wrath, the Biblical story of redemption, and the holiness of God, in the form of short stories and allegories to capture the imagination of children. The Barber Who Wanted to Pray is the latest addition to the children's books written by R.C. Sproul where he seeks to introduce the theology and praxis of prayer told through the story of Martin Luther teaching his barber how to pray.

Summary of Book and Contents

The book begins with a family sitting around the table engaged in daily family worship. One of the children asks her dad if he can teach her to pray like he does. The father proceeds to tell them a story of Martin Luther and Luther's barber, Master Peter, to teach his children how to pray the way Luther taught Master Peter. The rest of the story briefly recounts Luther's interaction with his barber wherein the barber asks Luther to pray, Luther writing a small booklet, and Luther returning to Peter to teach him to pray through the ten commandments, the Lord's prayer, and the Apostles' Creed. Sproul takes a brief sample from each to communicate how one prays through each of these three. The story then ends with the children around the table delighted in what they have just heard, and they request to extend family worship so they can practice this new way of prayer.

At the back of the book is included the ten commandments, the Lord's Prayer, and the Apostles' Creed for reference and memory for parents and children.

Evaluation

To evaluate children's books, I find it best to be guided by the wisdom of C.S. Lewis who once wrote, "A children's story that can only be enjoyed by children is not a good children's story in the slightest." So how does The Barber Who Wanted to Pray measure up? While the book communicates a great and helpful truth on how to pray, I do not think it matches the creativity, imagination, and story line that one will find in other children's books written by Sproul. The storyline seems too rushed, the characters underdeveloped, and the illustrations too dark and drab. I am not convinced that this book will capture a child's imagination like some of the other books written by Sproul. That is not to say that the book is all bad, I just found it disappointing in comparison to his previous children's books.

A Few Words of Caution

I do want to briefly mention a few words of caution concerning the contents of the book. First, the book does contain one illustration of Jesus praying with his disciples, which for some parent's, depending on their view of the scope of the second commandment, may be a put off. Second, there was one part of the story that I wondered whether it was too graphic and unnecessary, especially since the book is written for children. As Peter begins to give Luther a shave, Sproul writes the following: "Peter's razor was pressed very gently against the outlaw's neck. All Peter had to do was to press hard on the razor and he would cut the man's throat, killing him instantly. Then Peter could go to the emperor and say that he had taken care of the outlaw, and he could claim the reward, which would make him rich" (12). I question Sproul's wisdom and discernment here in giving children the visual picture of cutting someone's throat with a razor in order to kill them.

Conclusion

While the book is helpful in teaching children how to pray, I do not think the storyline, plot, and illustrations help communicate these great truths and make them "come alive" in children's imaginations, which is a shame.

*Review copy provided by Crossway

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars We LOVED this book! December 7, 2011

By J. M. Hart VINE™ VOICE

Format:Hardcover|Amazon Vine™ Review (What's this?)

This is what my 9 yo daughter had to say about The Barber Who Wanted To Pray:

I really enjoyed The Barber Who Wanted To Pray. Some of the things I liked about the book were the pictures and the story it told.

The Barber Who Wanted To Pray tells about a little girl, Delaney, who thinks that her prayers are weak. So, her dad tells her a story that his father had told him. In the story, there is a barber who felt the same way Delaney felt. Mr. Luther [the outlaw in the story] shares with the barber three different ways to pray. He tells the barber to use the Ten Commandments, the Lord's Prayer, and the Apostles' Creed as outlines when he prays. By doing this he will learn to pray the way God wants us to pray and he can keep his prayers exciting.

I think The Barber Who Wanted To Pray can teach kids a great lesson about learning to pray.