"Prayers for the Pilgrimage" (W. David O. Taylor)

TITLE: Prayers for the Pilgrimage: A Book of Collects for All of Life
AUTHOR: W. David O. Taylor
PUBLISHER: Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 2024, (208 pages).
 

There are many different ways that Christians can pray. From Sunday worship time to daily thanksgiving over a meal, prayer is a sign of devotion to God. It is a reminder that for all of our talents and know-how, we still need God. Many Christians learn to pray using the ACTS acronym: Adoration-Confession-Thanksgiving-Supplication. Each of them helps us focus on a particular form of prayer. Whether it is for worship or prayers for forgiveness, gratitude, or request, we can connect with God in all circumstances of life. For the most part, people have understood prayer in terms of asking for things, especially when they are in dire need. Realizing this great need, author David Taylor has collected a series of prayers for all occasions and for all of life. He calls these "collect prayers." What is a "Prayer of Collect?" There are written prayers focused on a specific item. Traditionally, the mainline churches like the Roman Catholics, the Anglicans, and other Protestant churches have used the term "collect" as a way to describe collecting all forms of prayer requests, needs, and desires for God to take action. It recognizes that God loves His people and this world and the prayer is a way to connect us with God, trusting that He knows and will assure us that things will be well, even when we feel helpless and hopeless. 

There are prayers for daily events, every Church occasion, every season of life, prayers in times of births/deaths, sickness/healing, work, worship, spiritual needs, creative work, public life, school, for the world, and every conceivable area of life. There are children's prayers, Celtic prayers, prayers for both private and public life, for self, for the Church, and even for the "nobodies in the world." I like how Taylor puts it, that prayers do not require one to live a pious life. The main requirement is to simply "show up" and be honest before God. 

My Thoughts

First, I want to thank Taylor for shining a new light on the use of collect prayers. There are many prayer practices that we can recover from the past, and the prayer of collects is one of them. Though some denominations still use them, for many of the modern independent churches who have ventured away from their mainline parents, it is a way to remind these churches that there is a lot that can be learned from tradition. By linking each need and turning it into a prayer, believers can learn to pray in all circumstances, practicing the principle of 1 Thess 5:17 to pray without ceasing.  Taylor takes the trouble to describe and define what these prayers are. He even includes a chapter in the appendix to show us how to write our own collects. Whatever it is, Taylor reminds us to anchor our prayers on the Word of God. Each collect prayer need not be long. Truthfulness is more important than length. 

Second, Taylor reminds us that prayer is more an art than a science. In our technological world where knowledge and know-how seem to occupy most of our thought space, learning to pray remains a fundamental aspect of spiritual life. Needs in general might spur us to want to pray. Hopefully, we will not be stuck on needs-driven prayers but on cultivating a deeper longing for God. This in itself is an art. What is also helpful are the illustrations by his wife Phaedra to help us linger in the prayer space and pause for the opportunity for our souls to meet God's Spirit. No words are necessary. Just the desire to linger in the presence of God. Let our desire for God lead us toward authentic prayers, to plead for a deeper relationship with God. What Taylor has done is to take a particular area of focus, and use it effectively to shine a light on God's character, desire, faith, hope, and love. I like the way he crafts biblical truths into the intercessional prayers. 

Finally, this book can spur us to craft and create our prayers. The more personal we make our prayers, the deeper the connection with God. By showing us the plethora of different opportunities to turn moments into prayers, it is hoped that readers and believers can learn to do the same for each and every moment in their lives. If this book can cultivate a deeper form of prayer, it would have worth the price of the book. Whether one is a trained seminarian, a minister, a long-time believer, or a relatively new believer, this book has something for everyone. The late professor-author, Eugene Peterson used to say: "Spirituality is learning to notice the ordinary." This book is an extension of that very phrase.

W. David O. Taylor (ThD, Duke Divinity School) is Associate Professor of Theology and Culture at Fuller Theological Seminary and the author of several books, including A Body of Praise,  and Glimpses of the New Creation; he is also the editor of For the Beauty of the Church as well as co-editor of Contemporary Art and the Church and of The Art of New Creation.

Rating: 4.5 stars out of 5.

conrade

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This book has been provided courtesy of InterVarsity Press via NetGalley without requiring a positive review. All opinions offered above are mine unless otherwise stated or implied.