My Reading Reviews: Praying the Scriptures for Your Children

5/14/18: The winner of the Praying the Scriptures for Your Children book give-away is Katie L.! Congratulations!

Unlike my previous book reviews, this month's book review is on a single book. And, I am giving away a brand new copy of this book to one of you! The instructions to enter for a chance to win are at the end of the review...

Praying the Scriptures for Your Children

By the Author Jodie Berndt

Jodie Berndt, a Christian author, has written three books about praying for your children in addition to co-authoring a few other books. In reading through her website, and blog (both can be found at jodieberndt.com), it appears that she is from Virginia and still resides there. She has not always
been an author, and seems to have started out in life just like most every other person including: going to college (she attended U.VA), having a job, getting married, and having kids. I believe she has been involved with Mom's In Prayer, which used to be called Mom's In Touch International, and co-founded Changing Seasons.

The title of this book, Praying the Scriptures for Your Children, pretty accurately describes what it is about. I would categorize the book as "General Life," and/or "Christian Parenting." When I initially found this book I was searching for Christmas gift ideas, and picked it up to flip through. It piqued my interest so I bought it for a gift. Before wrapping it I read about half of the book and, determined to find another copy so that I could read it in it's entirety. I finally did that last month when I found I could get it through our local library. It is not the standard size of book- it's a bit smaller and is about 250 pages long. There is a hard-back copy and a paper-back copy but, aside from the cover art, they are exactly the same.

Praying the Scriptures was a bit of a new concept for me, thus I found the foreword and introduction to be an important part of the entire book. They provide the foundation for why you should pray the Scriptures with Berndt telling her own story of learning about this prayer technique. The rest of the book is broken down into sections consisting of 4 chapters each, with each section relating to a specific area of a child's life such as their faith, relationships, etc. In each chapter, Berndt usually shares at least one real-life story usually from her own life as a parent, or a personal friend's story, that relates to the prayer topic that she is discussing. She includes examples of how she has used Scriptures as prayers for her children in specific situations, and examples of other people using the Scriptures in this way as well.

In addition to giving examples of praying the Scriptures, at the end of each chapter Berndt provides a fairly wide variety of Scriptures already written out that can be used as prayers relating to the topic of that chapter. Each of these Scripture lists, as well as any Scripture used throughout the chapters, are well referenced, including the Bible translation if the NIV is not used. All of the Scriptures provided throughout the book are meant to give you a jump-start in praying the Scriptures yourself, especially if you're not sure where to start. Berndt also includes a few helpful tips on how to find Scriptures relating to the specific need for which you are wanting to pray.

Even though Berndt has referenced within the chapters any quotes, or ideas, of other books or speakers that she's used, there are thorough appendices at the end of the book. She also includes a listing of recommended books, as well as additional Scripture techniques that you can use to pray for your children. In addition, there are a few journal pages at the end of the book in which you can write down your own Scripture references and prayers that you search out on your own.

This is not a heavy, dense, and deeply theological book. In fact, I would say that it is a fairly easy read. Berndt writes in an engaging way that does not unnecessarily drag on, or go in circles. She doesn't sugar-coat, and writes in what I would consider a very down-to-earth way. Her personal stories, such as sharing about when her 3 year old ate the glass mercury bulb of a thermometer, as well as the stories of other people's real experiences, bring an element of real-life to the book. Berndt also includes stories of seeing specific prayers for a child answered, though not always in the way expected, as well as real examples of people she personally knows that have long been praying for their child in a specific way with no results in sight. As I said, it is not a dense, heavy book, yet it is not what I would consider a fluffy, feel-good, Jesus book. It was an easy read for me, yet it also caused me to think and dig deeper myself.

Praying the Scriptures for Your Children is one book that I would recommend to anyone for a good, basic read that could completely change how you pray. Even though it is a book about how you can pray for your kids, I would say that anyone, with or without kids, could learn something from it. The author herself describes how some verses from Colossians that she prays for her kids is also one of her prayers for her husband. So don't write it off as inapplicable if you don't have kids just because it says, "...for Your Children" in the title.

GIVE-AWAY!!

While reading this book, I wondered how I had never learned, or heard of, this prayer technique. It seems so common sense, yet I never figured it out. Learning how to pray the Scriptures has changed how I pray in general, as well as how I pray for people specifically. And, I have wanted to share this book with several people which is why I am giving away one copy of this book.

To enter for a chance to win this book, please leave a comment with:

1. The title of the last book you have read (it can be for pleasure, school, work, etc.)
2. If you would like to win this book for yourself, or to give to someone as a gift
3. Your name

The winner will be randomly drawn at noon on Monday, May 14th. Make sure to check back to see if you are the winner!!