The state of our prayers

TO CHANGE THE WORLD FOR GOOD:
Exploring and applying the Lord’s Prayer
By John Belham
Charenton Reformed Publishing. 136 pages.
£6.99
ISBN 978 0 992 946 579

The worn aphorism ‘Don’t judge a book by its cover’ comes to mind when examining this book. Its contents are done a disservice by the poor aesthetic of the volume itself, including the dated cover design, various editorial decisions, and frequent abuse of … ellipses.

Nonetheless the book does have good, edifying things to offer as an accessible, succinct exploration and application of what is popularly known as ‘the Lord’s Prayer’. Comprised of 17 short, warm and worshipful chapters that each examine a phrase or line from the Lord’s Prayer, To Change the World for Good is clearly written with a view to fostering scripturally-informed and God-honouring prayers applied across all areas of life. Each chapter concludes with a model prayer drawn from the chapter’s contents, several questions for reflection or discussion, and a list of Scripture references – features that make the book ideal as a study guide for small group use.