Prayers for Every Occasion by Ellen Banks Elwell

Prayer is something I've been working on for years. I didn't grow up praying so it's been difficult to know what to say and when to do it. I find this is not exclusive to me because my children pray just fine at meal times but struggle when they need to confess or ask for God's help. 

I thought Prayers for Every Occasion by Ellen Banks Elwell would be nice to open and read through to find an already written prayer for some occasions. 

The books itself is separated into four parts: prayers for specific occasions, prayers from the Bible, hymns that can be prayers, and traditional prayers. 

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The prayers for specific occasions are written by the author. You can tell she wrote them for individuals in her own life rather than specifically for this book. An example is the prayer for an expectant mother. In this prayer, Elwell mentions that the mother has been struggling it's getting pregnant. That's a very specific prayer but would not want to be said or copied word-for-word for many situations. I found that to be true for most of these prayers. 

The rest of the book appeals to me more than that section. I appreciate the prayers in the Bible because I love using Scripture for prayer! I've found this a great way to be sure my prayers line up with God's words! 

The hymns as prayer section I like because I'm unfamiliar with many hymns but know they have much spiritual wisdom within them. I'm only familiar with six of the hymns in this book but am excited to look at them and the ones new to me in light of prayer. Worshipping with music is one of my favorite ways to address our Lord. 

 I am in a medical sharing ministry and we write encouraging notes when we send a share. Sometimes I'm at a loss for words and the last section of this book looks promising in giving me something more to write to my brothers and sisters in Christ. This section is called "Prayers Across the Ages" and gives some shorter prayers from past believers that were used for various occasions: bedtime, evenings, Christmas, etc. I'm excited to put these ancient prayers to use in my life. 

I think this book will prove valuable as an example of prayer and to allow me words when I cannot come up with my own. 

Disclaimer: I received this book in order to write an honest review. All opinions are my own and may differ from others' opinions.