Prayers for Children

Last year, I reviewed a book by Stephen Elkins called 100 Bible Stories, 100 Bible Songs. The girls loved it. The Bible stories were simple and good for preschoolers. The book included two cds with traditional Sunday school songs.

Recently, I received 100 Prayers God Loves to Hear: 100 Praise Songs. I was curious if we would like it as well as the other book I reviewed by Stephen Elkins. I pulled out the first cd to listen to. The music was very electronic and my girls didn't really like it. The hard part is that I asked them why and since my oldest daughter is only 6 years old, she couldn't really tell me why--she just knew she didn't like it. I read through the prayers in the book and for the most part the prayers were okay. I liked the 10 Bible Verses about Prayer list in the front of the book. There is a great table of contents in the beginning of the book so you can find your favorite prayers easily.

There were a couple of prayers that were disconcerting to me and are why I wouldn't recommend this book if you are looking for a book about prayer for children. The prayers that concerned me were "The Prayer of Jabez". The book quotes the NKJV of this verse and it says that "The prayer of Jabez pleased God because he prayed for others." p. 52 My last blog entry goes into what the different translations say and so this statement isn't really biblical. Yes, God did answer Jabez's prayer, but it doesn't say why. We don't know.

Another entry is a prayer that is on page 196 "The Prayer of the Twenty-Four Elders". I don't think it's unbiblical, per se, but it just didn't sit with me for some reason. I guess it bothered me. The idea that we praise Jesus because he's worthy--because he has "earned the right" to be praised makes him sound more like a human than the Son of God. I praise the Lord because of who He is. Jesus didn't have to do something so I would love Him. I think it rubbed me the wrong way because we are so caught up in the idea that we should only respect someone if they've earned it--if they deserve our respect. We are so rebellious against authority and are so caught up in pride that it clouds the way we look at things sometimes. I don't think the author meant it this way, but I am so sensitive to this weakness in myself and our society that I seem to pick up on it a lot.

In the end, this book is fine, but I don't think I would spend $20 on it. If you're looking for a book on prayer for children, I would recommend Prayer: Learning How to Talk to God by Jeanete Groth. It is illustrated by Jan Brett. I love it! It is a wonderful book that teaches children the different things we pray about (praising God for his creation, praying for guidance, thanking God, etc.).

Please note that I received a complimentary copy of this book for review from Thomas Nelson.

ESV, NIV, or NASB and then there's the ICB, ESV or NIrV...which should we read?

I am so thankful for my friend's question about the ESV vs. NASB and NIV. I couldn't remember the difference so I went to look it up. I knew that John Piper and Tim Keller, both pastors and authors that I deeply respect have switched over to the ESV. All of the churches that we have attended over the past few years PCA or Reformed Baptist have also switched to the ESV. I did find a blog that explained the differences and that helped me ( http://thefoolishgalatian.wordpress.com/2007/10/22/niv-vs-esv-and-why-piper-switched/ ) I knew why I didn't like the KJV--it was written in the days when writers were paid by a patron and that often slanted the translation. The NKJV, from what I understand, is a revision of the KJV that uses more modern language. Most churches I have attended used the NIV until the ESV came out. The blog I found explained that the ESV is a more literal translation---like the NASB. The NASB is a very literal translation. The ESV has come to be consid...

Missing Pieces

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listening or rather not listening to directions...

This week has been very eye opening. I am observing and noticing what I need to learn in order to be a better homeschooling mom and teacher and what my daughter needs to learn to be a good homeschooling student. My weakness when I was a teacher in a first grade classroom was not understanding how small concepts had to be broken down--and I lost my patience very quickly. This week, in particular today, I am seeing how detailed my directions need to be. I am going to be working very consciously and deliberately on this. On the other hand, I realized that my daughter does not listen! Wowsers! In a classroom, Autumn listens very well. She is a compliant child and very influenced by peer pressure and conformity. So, she listens along with everyone else and follows directions. But, at home, it's just Autumn and maybe Sami and Mommy. Very, very different! I had forgotten that most of kindergarten in the public schools is not focused on teaching students academic and learning co...

love to paint

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