When Kent Hughes retired as pastor of College Church in Wheaton, Illinois, Wendell Hawley was asked to write and deliver the pastoral prayer each Sunday morning. This book is a collection of 73 of those prayers. There is one for every Sunday of the year plus others for special occasions. Many of those reading A Pastor Prays use extemporaneous prayers almost exclusively, and that by conviction. Nevertheless, reading Hawley’s prayers is both uplifting and educational. The prayers might be read at local churches but, if not, they serve as a wonderful model of worshipful, theological and practical public praying. Sharp distinctions between prayers appropriate for the Old Testament and the church age are sometimes lacking (such as frequent mentions of the church being God’s house), and there are a few Scriptures taken out of context. But the majority of the content is biblically sound and edifying.
(Tyndale House: Carol Stream, 2010) 172 pp. plus iv, paper $12.99
Reviewed by Gary E. Gilley, Pastor-teacher Southern View Chapel