Let the Whole Church Say Amen!: A Guide for Those Who Pray in Public Paperback – Import, 26 Jun 2001

Stookey has written a wonderful guide to public prayer to help worship leaders of every rank and stripe bring prayer to people in the spirit of Jesus. He takes prayer into the realm of really talking to God rather than to the congregation and distinguishes between actually praying and preaching with one's eyes closed. Stookey reminds us that prayer is more than murmuring religious cliches and phrases that we have heard someone else do for a lifetime and gives us a gentle but firm reminder of what my old homiletics professor told us about public prayer - "Remember Who you're talking to and remember who you are talking for." This book should be in the hands of every church leader, clergy and laity alike, and for any of those who are called upon to pray out loud.

This workbook is a fabulous resource for anyone who is leading worship or praying in a public setting. Each time I invite people to attend this Lay Servant class, I hear the same thing, "Oh, I don't bellieve that prayers should be written down or prepared in advance. I think they should be spontaneous!". Then, 10 hours later, at the end of class, they ALL say, "Wow! I had NO idea there were so many types of prayers. I could/should be doing this better!" If you are preparing prayers for worship - unison prayers, litanies, prayers of confession, etc. - you can't very well do them spontaneously! They must be thought out in order to be meaningful. And they must be written down. This workbook is wonderful! One of my favorite sections is "Praying to the God that is Present". It reminds us that we DON'T need to ask God to 'be with us' or 'Be with John . . . .' He's ALREADY with us! And the section on the "Lord, we just wanna. . . . " type of prayers will crack you up! From seasoned Christians to new people in the faith, this book will challenge you to put the effort into making prayer - public or private - more meaningful. (Just taught a class of 12 and they raved about it!)

Excellent suggestions for learning how to give public prayers. When I first saw the suggested structure for a simple prayer, I was a bit dubious. However, after working through the information and practice exercises, I saw the value of this basic and flexible form. When next I listened to a pastor give a prayer, it gave me new appreciation for how the parts worked together to support each other and make a more coherent and powerful message. There were many helpful insights into what to say and what not to say. I will now remember the importance of choosing words the everyone listening can truly say "amen" to. This book was chosen for a class I'm taking for laity to become comfortable and proficient with public prayer. It has been well received by the participants.

I bought this book because it was a required text for a United Methodist Lay Servant course. I was pleasantly surprised by how good it is. The author explains that when we are praying in public, we are praying on behalf of the group and he gives tips and advice to better pray on behalf of a group. The author also gives the Biblical basis for these tips.God knows our thoughts and the author reminds us that God won't necessarily hear us any differently if we use these tips. However, it has made me think more about my own prayers.The book is easy to read and very practical and straightforward. I highly recommend it.

This is a wonderful book on public prayer. The book has also helped me become better in my own individual prayer life. In it are exercises in whether or not to write. It discusses how to compose prayers so that those present can feel a part of the prayer and say amen in agreement with the prayer. There are exercises to hone your skills at prayer using different forms.