Marsha Lynn
17th October 2005, 03:02 PM (15:02)
I'm using this book as Sunday School curriculum for young adults. It was written in 1895 (I think) and is one of those pivotal classics that can change one's whole view of prayer. I read it years ago and recently picked it up again while looking for lesson material.
What I like about it:
1. It's very teachable. Like most books by the author, it has 31 short chapters. In this book, each chapter is tied to a scripture passage. Murray looks closely at the scripture without stretching it to make his points. I'm finding it easy to use his basic outline. All I have to do is add a starter question to get things going. For example, lesson 6 was based on Matthew 7:9-11, which points out that even "evil" earthly fathers respond to their children's requests. My starter question was, "What is the best example you've seen of a father/child relationship?"
2. It's in the public domain. I'm printing out a chapter every week to distribute to the group. I gave them folders to use for storing the handouts. At the end of the series, they'll have the complete book.
One drawback:
The language is 19th century English. There are updated versions available, but they are NOT in the public domain and I much prefer to stick to the "original language" when I can. It does make it a little difficult for those who are not accustomed to reading material from that era.
There are many good books on prayer, but this one pretty much tops my list of favorites.
Marsha
What I like about it:
1. It's very teachable. Like most books by the author, it has 31 short chapters. In this book, each chapter is tied to a scripture passage. Murray looks closely at the scripture without stretching it to make his points. I'm finding it easy to use his basic outline. All I have to do is add a starter question to get things going. For example, lesson 6 was based on Matthew 7:9-11, which points out that even "evil" earthly fathers respond to their children's requests. My starter question was, "What is the best example you've seen of a father/child relationship?"
2. It's in the public domain. I'm printing out a chapter every week to distribute to the group. I gave them folders to use for storing the handouts. At the end of the series, they'll have the complete book.
One drawback:
The language is 19th century English. There are updated versions available, but they are NOT in the public domain and I much prefer to stick to the "original language" when I can. It does make it a little difficult for those who are not accustomed to reading material from that era.
There are many good books on prayer, but this one pretty much tops my list of favorites.
Marsha