Given to me as a gift, I picked up the book to casually peruse its pages. Let me tell you, there is nothing casual about EVERYDAY I PRAY. It is a powerful collection of prayers that has touched me. Ms. Vanzant has outdone herself once again!
Reviewed by Nedine
of The RAWSISTAZ Reviewers
She begins by saying "I grew up in the Holiness Church, where prayer was an event" and then she explains the effort and drama that happened in the church when prayer was discussed and practiced. Then she states "However, somewhere deep inside of me, I had the secret belief that I did not know how to pray, and that frightened me." Oh I know so well what she means....... She continues "I'm not sure where I heard it or why I believed it, but when I was in my mid-twenties a few words changed my approach to and experience of prayer. The words were these: 'Every thought you think is a prayer. Every word you speak is a prayer. Every act in which you engage is a prayer, because the Spirit of God lives in you' Now how awesome is that? I dint need drums. I didn't need to clap. I didn't need a host of other people to help me raise the volume of my prayers so that God would hear them. If the words of that statement are true, and I do believe they are, it means that at every moment of every day, I am communicating with the Creator of the universe."
On page 18 she notes "Once I got it straight, I realized that the essence, energy, power and presence of God is in fact house at the core of my being. I also understood that God does in fact hear every thought and word. His/her response show up as my experiences, my feelings and the many divine inspiration that have shaped the course of my life"
She then proceeds to share dozens of wonderful prayers of thanks and gratitude, seeking wisdom and guidance and simply prayers of joy. I loved the book since the author write as if she knew me. Knew my friend Cathy and my friend Cindy. We all have had conversations about prayer that mirror what she writes about. We have been on that same path and have found the same joy.
I also like the book because it has a Zen quality. You can slip inside your briefcase, carry all and in a few moments open it up read a prayerful thought she shares and find yourself renewed. It is almost like a literary meditation.
On page 54 she has the prayer "Please Untie the Nots" which in part says:
Dear God Please untie the nots that are invading my mind my heart and my life. Please remove the have nots the can nots and the do nots that invade my mind. Please erase the will nots, may nots, might nots, that invade my heart. Please release me from the could nots, would nots and should nots that invade my life. Most of all God I ask that you remove from my mind, heart and life all the am nots that I have allowed to hold me back.......
My young daughter reads them and is helped by them too.
Sometimes what I can't put into words what's deep in my spirit, Iyanla's prayers become my own and I'm empowered.
Excellent book.
I love the ending of each prayer... "And so it is"