Shoemaker, H. Stephen. Finding Jesus in His Prayers. Abingdon Press, 2004. ISBN: 978-0-687-35253-1.
Meet the Author
Stephen Shoemaker is the Senior Minister at Myers Park Baptist Church in Charlotte, North Carolina. He is the author of several books, including Finding Jesus in His Prayers, God Stories: New Narratives from Sacred Texts, and Strength in Weakness: A Lyrical Re-presentation of II Corinthians.
Book Basics
For those who seek to know and follow Jesus, learning more about how and what he prayed offers considerable insight. Shoemaker accomplishes this by exploring Jesus’ life of prayer and the texts of all nine of Jesus’ prayers as recorded in the Gospels. The book is well suited for individual study or use in a small group and includes a leader’s guide for a four session group experience. Of note, Shoemaker offers his own translations and intentionally uses the word Abba rather than Father in an effort to “force us into a world different than our own because we presume too much familiarity with Jesus and his world” (p.22).
So What?
Authentic Christianity is focused on living as a disciple of Jesus. Like his initial disciples, we too can learn a great deal by observing Jesus at prayer: his patterns and his words. A journey through this book is an opportunity to see Jesus more clearly and to be invited more fully into the life of prayer.