PRAYING WITH JESUS
By Rob Warner
Hodder & Stoughton. 207 pages. £6.99
ISBN 0 340 721820
This helpful book, by the Baptist minister Rob Warner, was the Hodder Lent Book for this year. It aims to open up the meaning and riches of the Lord's Prayer for Christians and thoughtful seekers.
Each section of the book begins with a poem by George Herbert, six brief chapters around each phrase of the prayer, and a short exposition of a relevant passage of Scripture. There's a suggested prayer response or question for personal reflection, together with some additional poems from as diverse a group of poets as Gerald Manley Hopkins and Sir Walter Raleigh. The last section is a series of short chapters on the meaning of the holy communion.
This is certainly a book that Christians of all denominations could profit from as a supplement to their personal Bible study. It is suggested that it could be used for group Bible study. In my view, it could be used as a resource, but it would need to be shortened and adapted for such a purpose.
Rob Warner writes with a sound theological knowledge and understanding, and he has the ability to expound the doctrines of God, the kingdom, sin, evil, the atonement and forgiveness clearly and profoundly. He also writes with pastoral sensitivity, and there are many illustrations drawn from his own ministerial experience. He also relates the teaching of the Lord's Prayer to some of the burning issues of the day. For example, the sin of institutional racism is highlighted in the section on 'Lead us not into temptations, but deliver us from evil'.
Christian readers will be challenged and enriched by this book. Thoughtful enquirers may find it harder going, and the poetry more of a 'turnoff'.
