Designed to Pray: Creative Ways to Engage with God- Book Review & Giveaway!

by Sally Matheny

Designed to Pray

Is your prayer life lacking passion and purpose? Then this book is for you. And if you'd like to learn more creative ways to express your prayers, then this book is definitely for you! 

I’m delighted to share with you about Designed to Pray: Creative Ways to Engage with God, and I’ll be giving away a copy of the book. Do you know why you should be excited?

Because it’s a fantastic book!

Award-winning author, Kelly O’Dell Stanley, incorporates her graphic design skills with her heart for prayer in this eight-week, interactive workbook.

There aren’t any rules in using the book and she encourages readers to feel free to adapt it to suit their styles and needs.

The 203-page book covers eight themes of prayer:

Week 1: Tumbling Into God’s Presence

Week 2: The Faith of a Child

Week 3: Creativity . . . Connecting the Dots to See God

Week 4: We’re All in This together (Praying with or for Others)

Week 5: A Personal God (Knowing God, Knowing Yourself)

Week 6: Shaking Things Up (Breaking Out of a Rut)

Week 7: How to Pray When . . .

Week 8: Coloring Your Prayers

Each section contains scriptures, a short story or reflection, a page to write, draw, explore, or prayer journal. Also, there are daily “prayer exercises” related to the week’s theme.

Exercise sounds like work, but the author makes the activities fun and enjoyable. Some will be light and some will run deep. All are refreshing.

For example, Week Seven’s theme is “How to Pray When . . .”

Each day has a different focus:

How to Pray When Life is Messy

How to Pray When You Want to Go Deeper

How to Pray When the World Overwhelms You

How to Pray When You Can’t Keep It All Straight

How to Pray When Your Need Seems Impossible

How to Pray When You Need a Fresh Point of View

How to Pray When You’re Tired.

In light of recent events, I skipped straight to the day addressing how to pray when the world is overwhelming.

John 16:33 greeted me and other related scriptures were listed for further reading.

I read a short story of which I could easily relate, and was reminded that “although we face all kinds of horrific things, devastation does not get the final word. God does.”

Then, there was a creative prayer activity suggestion. As I read through the newspaper, rather than becoming bogged down in despair, the book prompted

A variety of creative ways to
engage with God

me to write with a marker a prayer right on top of the story. The book also reminded me that God is bigger than any of the troubling things I was reading.

While I’ve prayed for situations I’ve read about in the paper before, I’ve never written a prayer OVER them. There was something symbolic about it. It served as a visual reminder that the situation has been covered in prayer. As I set down the marker, so too, could I put my worries to rest. God’s got this. 

A variety of creative suggestions like this one will provide a fresh breath to anyone’s prayer life. There are spaces to fill with color, words, and talents unique to each reader.

This is not a tedious workbook. It’s a vibrant work of art between the reader and her Creator.

I highly recommend this book. 

Would you like to win a free copy? All you have to do to get your name in the hat is be sure you’re on my email list. A winner will be randomly selected on Sunday, February 19, 2017.

If you’re not on the email list, and would like to be, you can do that by submitting your email address in the "Follow by Email" box located in the right-hand column.

The only thing you’ll ever receive is one or two weekly emails with the latest posts from my blog. I know your time is precious so you’ll never receive more than two emails a week. Normally, it's usually just one. Plus, I don’t share email addresses for any reason. I hate spam as much as you do. ☺

Be sure and check back Sunday to see who won!

WINNER: JANE F. of Henrietta, N.C. Congratulations!!! I'll contact you about                                 delivering your book.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the publisher through the BookLook Bloggers <http://booklookbloggers.com> book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255