Wendell C. Hawley

While there are some who are completely against the idea of using written prayers or prayers written by others, and many more who are concerned about such prayers becoming rote ritual, there still seems to be a growing appreciation for the benefits that can come from reflecting upon, using, and learning from the prayers of others.

To this end there is A Pastor Prays For His People by Wendell Hawley. These seem to be prayers mostly designed for use in Sunday assemblies. There are between four and six prayers presented per month with additional prayers for religious and secular observances. The last section features prayers for various circumstances-- meetings, weddings, deaths, etc. In all, seventy-three prayers are provided.
The value in these prayers feature the value of using-- or at least learning from-- the prayers of others. They provide thoughts, forms of expression, and other such things about prayer that might not automatically come to mind in prayer. Through these prayers one is reminded of various distressing situations people might find themselves, the various sins and challenges that beset us that might not always be confessed, and reminders about what is really important in life.Some of the prayers feature material from non-Biblical Christian literature (especially Bunyan's Pilgrim's Progress) and songs. The prayers also presuppose the "church year" and its observances, and has prayers for those events. Such might cause challenges for those who take issue to such things, but one can still reflect on the message. The book's title-- and many of its prayers-- also presuppose the not very Biblical pastoral system of the church, as opposed to elders and a possible evangelist (Ephesians 4:11-16, Philippians 1:1, etc.). The insidious idea of the church building as the "house of God" can be perceived in many of the prayers; while the church does reflect the household of God (1 Timothy 3:15), we are always in God's presence (John 4:20-24, 1 Corinthians 6:19-20, 1 Peter 2:4-11).

Ultimately, there is value in learning from these prayers, even if one may not feel comfortable in repeating them verbatim. All of us can grow in our prayer lives, and should seek to do so!

*--book received as part of early review program… (meer)