Review (and a Giveaway!): Pocket Prayers by Max Lucado

Pocket Prayers (with various authors; Thomas Nelson, March 2016)

Bestselling author Max Lucado has teamed up with six authors to write the Pocket Prayers series for those in need of peace, renewal, rest, faith, hope, joy, direction, serenity, and courage.

Short, simple prayers are very effective, which is why each book in the series contains forty guided prayers and complementary scriptures for any situation, including for:

-Moms (written with daughter Andrea Lucado)
-Grads (written with daughter Andrea Lucado)
-Dads (written with Mark Mynheir)
-Military Life (written with Mark Mynheir)
-Teachers (written with blogger Jennifer Hale)
-Friends (written with Betsy St. Amant)

Purchase your copies: http://amzn.to/1VgCJqv

First of all, these books are GORGEOUS! Each of the covers are so eye-catching, and the interior design is pretty too. The prayers are short and sweet but full of meaning and insights to contemplate throughout the day. A vignette by Max Lucado about prayer opens each book (the same vignette for each one, as far as I can tell), and then the “forty simple prayers” are divided into meaningful categories.

For instance, in the two books I’m spotlighting today – Pocket Prayers for Friends (written with Betsy St. Amant) and Pocket Prayers for Moms – there are 6 categories in each book. Topics are relatable and timely, and Scripture accompanies each prayer.

In Pocket Prayers for Friends, written with the fabulous Betsy St. Amant, we are given the opportunity to pray for our friends and their struggles, our own struggles, and our relationships with our friends. “Bless my friends when they struggle with loneliness. Be the companion they seek.” I also love how each prayer points straight to Jesus – “Thank you for being my hero and my protector. You’re my safety net in an unsafe world…” 

Friends are so important, aren’t they? One of my oldest friends is Christa. Wait… that didn’t come out right! 😉 I’ve known her since she was pregnant with her first child… who is now almost 19… the age I was when I met her haha! (Don’t do the math. You’ll figure out how old I am and that’s just sad.) We both speak the language of sarcasm, find the same things funny, and enjoy reading. She introduced me to opera – something I never would have imagined enjoying, but I do! I introduced her son to the awesomeness that is teaching English as a Second Language, something I never would have imagined HIM enjoying but my goodness that young man is gonna change the world. Literally, the world. We’ve spent Fourth of Julys and SuperBowl Sundays and even a Thanksgiving with Christa and her family… until they had to go and move to Louisiana. Which, incidentally is where author Betsy St. Amant lives… so it seems appropriate that I feature Christa in my discussion of the book Betsy co-authored. (To give you an indication of the true depth and emotion of our friendship, when I texted Christa this morning to ask permission to include her picture in the post, I eventually got this response from her:

Ok…so maybe that was a bit early. But in my defense, it WAS an hour later here, and anyway that’s what she gets for moving to Louisiana 😉

Pocket Prayers for Moms, written with Andrea Lucado, is basically the same format as Pocket Prayers for Friends but has categories more geared toward children and families and the kind of needs a mom may face.  “May my children serve You today. Don’t let distractions or the Enemy get in the way of their focus on You.” and “Steady my heart today as I make to-do lists.” Once again, the focus of this little-but-meaningful gift book is always on Jesus. “You are the one true God and I am in awe of You.” 

I am fortunate to know so many awesome moms (including my own) who absolutely just ROCK. Yes, life is crazy for them most days. Yes, they’re imperfect. But y’all. They love their kiddos and their kiddos know that without a doubt!

One mom that I want to talk about is my sister-in-law’s sister Mandy.  (Is there a name for how Mandy is related to me? I honestly don’t know, so we’ve decided that we can think of ourselves as sisters-in-law too if we want.)  Mandy is super adorable, and so are her kids – who are all under the age of 4 or something crazy like that.  Y’all.  How has she not gone insane yet?!? When I was talking with Mandy earlier today, she sent me this picture (to the right) and told me the story behind it. “I hadn’t showered in two days, I was letting Kayleigh (4) do my hair because she wanted to dress me up and Levi [oldest boy] was having to be still to let his knee wound heal…. that’s real life on a daily basis.” She assures me that she is far from perfect, but I think she’s doing such a great job! Her kids are happy and adorable and so very loved!!!! And she pours Jesus into her family and into those little lives.

Since Thomas Nelson was gracious enough to send me all 6 books in this series, I’m going to attempt to be gracious enough to pass on the love to some of my peeps. Christa and Mandy will both be getting something in the mail from me next week (hopefully… postal service, I’m looking at you. Don’t let me down.) – a Pocket Prayers for Friends for Christa and a Pocket Prayers for Moms for Mandy.

I’m not gonna lie, though. Totally tempted to keep the Friends one for myself. 🙂 It’s definitely my favorite of the pack!

These little gift books would be perfect for several of the upcoming holidays!

Consider giving:

Pocket Prayers for Moms to a mom you want to encourage on Mother’s Day (May 8th)

Pocket Prayers for Military Life to a someone serving in our Armed Forces on Memorial Day (May 30th)

Pocket Prayers for Dads to a dad you admire on Father’s Day (June 19th)

Pocket Prayers for Teachers to your child’s teacher sometime during National Teacher’s Appreciation Week, the first week in May.

Pocket Prayers for Graduates to someone finishing high school or college this May

Pocket Prayers for Friends to one of your best friends on June 8th which just so happens to be National Best Friends Day.

Purchase your copies: http://amzn.to/1VgCJqv

See what others are saying: Litfuse

(I received a copy of these books in exchange for only my honest review.)

About Max Lucado

More than 120 million readers have found inspiration and encouragement in the writings of Max Lucado. He lives with his wife, Denalyn, and their mischievous mutt, Andy, in San Antonio, Texas, where he serves the people of Oak Hills Church.

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Now it’s your turn – Who would you give one of these Pocket Prayer books to and why?