Classic poetry from a faith perspective

This anthology of beautifully-written poetry from the perspective of faith is a must-read for Christian poets and poetry lovers of hope: The Soul in Paraphrase.

You'll not only have an excellent collection of literary poems to study and enjoy, you'll have the benefit of notes and comments by the prolific writer and long-time English Professor Leland Ryken - an expert in the field of literature and the Bible. I've appreciated his work for years and keep many of his books beside my desk for quick reference!

For a review of the book, click onto the current post on my Poetry Editor and Poetry blog.


The Soul in Paraphrase, hardback



...

Praying for Christian poets, writers, the church Body of Christ, and the world

A few weeks ago, I asked the members of our Christian Poets & Writers group on Facebook what prayers keep coming to mind for each other, the church, and the world. Some responded with actual prayers (italicized below) and some with prayers thoughts and/or a prayerful purpose:

Jewell: To impact for Christ through gentle and loving words

Patti: Come, Lord Jesus, Come!

Valerie: Father, give us ears to hear and Spiritual eyes to see what you place before me and how I can make an impact in my church and in my community. Give me your heart of compassion, so the door can open for me to tell more of your goodness. Allow me to run the race of life from an eternal perspective.

Mary: Besides the Lord's Prayer aka Our Father, my frequent prayer is: Lord, give us the prayers to pray.

Joyce: (I pray) that we will never lose sight of God's call to write – be it poetry, fiction, non-fiction. Our purpose as writers is about sharing God and Christ with the world, never about dollars and cents. Money and fame may come but should never be our reason for writing.

Karin: I often pray Philippians 2:13: For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure.

Miisrael: I pray that God's poets keep writing of his wonderful love, his beautiful spirit to give us what we need to reach others with words and expressions. Prayers of poets I feel should never cease to show God's gift of words he has given us to share with others.

Wanda: I pray we never lose sight that gifts were given to us to praise God.

Jerome: Prayers of the faith of God – should the church come to embody such faith, we would indeed turn the world upside down.

Prayer S: My simple prayers are often associated with His commandments to love (Matthew 22:36-40.) If we comprehend all that’s behind these two commandments, we have before us all that’s needed to share the blessings of His church, share in the blessings of His love and share the blessings of His Word with the world.

Edie: When I was leading the opening for our Sunday School, I taught the kids my brief prayer with which I start many days: Lord, help me to be your child today - in all that I think and do and say. (For the kids, I added hand motions for think/do/say.) If each one of us in the church lives this way, then the church itself is strengthened – and the world is better served by us.

Mary: Lord, help! is a frequent prayer in times of trouble.

Lori: Lord Jesus, forgive our sins, save us from the fires of hell, lead all souls to heaven especially those in most need of thy mercy!

Patti: (Re: the Lord’s Prayer or Our Father) That's how Jesus taught us to pray, so yes, I do, all the time. Also, I love turning other scriptures into prayers with my name and others in them.

Rodgers: I pray that we may find satisfaction in life through Christ.

Lionel: That we may be less worldly and more holy....

Eileen: Unite our hearts to fear Your name, Oh Lord.

Cherrilynn: Philippians 1:9-11, And this is my prayer: that your love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight, so that you may be able to discern what is best and may be pure and blameless for the day of Christ, filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ—to the glory and praise of God.

Glynn: (I pray) that in what we do, how we serve, and what we write, we are a witness.

Tesha: Unity and CHRIST FOCUS!

Mary: I woke up this morning thinking about my first Fav from childhood, David's prayer (the last verse in Psalm 19.) What a great prayer to begin each day: Let the words of my mouth and the meditations of my heart be acceptable in Your sight, O Lord, my strength and my redeemer.

Nellie: Help us to constantly strive to live up to the image in which we were created. Help us love one another as Jesus loved us.

Marie: May my words and actions be a reflection of Who Jesus is in my everyday life. I desire that my blog and life reflect who HE is to others!

Cathy: Father, let Your kingdom come and Your will be done. Speak to our leaders, give our leaders wisdom. Lord, how we need You now!

Theresa: That we become scribes "instructed" in the Kingdom of Heaven.... Matthew 13:52.

Bill: For the church: to be conduits of God's glory. For this group: The Lord God has given me the tongue of the learned, that I may know how to speak a word in season to him who is weary. The world: to bend the knee in adoration.

TR: Save and defend Your whole Church, purchased with the precious blood of Christ. Strengthen Your faithful people through the Word and the Holy Sacraments, making them perfect in love, and establishing in them the faith once delivered to the saints. Send the light of Your truth into all the earth. Raise up faithful servants of Christ to advance the Gospel both at home and in distant lands. Lord, in Your mercy, Hear our prayer. Sanctify and unite thy people in all the world, that one holy Church may bear witness to thee, the God and Father of all.

Dawn: My prayer for the church is that we would rise up and walk in the authority God gave us. Lord, we need to band together and get over our own egos and become one as you speak about in John Chapter 14. Your word says they will know us by our love one for another. My prayer for this group is that we would use the writing gifts to make a difference not only in this group, but to reach out to the unsaved with our words.

Robin: Venerable Lord, come quickly, and if you don't, please help us all! We are at the end of time as the Bible says will happen, and as we witness the growing evil, my prayer is that God would send Jesus to come quickly, or if not, help us all who call upon His name to be emboldened to stand up and claim the good news and the name of Jesus Christ. There is nothing darkness can do against the Light.

Wanda: My prayer for everyone is that we all recognize Christ is the only entrance into heaven.

Jean: I'm sensing that there needs to be the spirit of repentance unleashed upon all of us, to begin to understand God's holiness, and our sinfulness.

Yolanda: These scriptures come to mind for me: Galatians 5:13 For you were called to freedom, brothers. Only do not use your freedom as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another Ephesians 4:2 with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love.

Mary: Amen to all the above! If you have prayers or prayer thoughts to add, please do so in the Comment section below. Thanks. And, may each of us love one another and live each day in God's ongoing prayers for us in Jesus' Name.



© 2014 Christian Writer's Guide e-book, and founder of the Christian Poets & Writers group on Facebook where this discussion began

…