McRoberts and Erickson at it again in May It Be So
Justin McRoberts has teamed up with artist and speaker Scott Erickson to create a mash-up of thoughtful and imaginative art aiming to help folks participate in spiritual practice through guided prayers, contemplative imagery, meditations, and suggested practices in their book, Prayer: Forty Days of Practice. And they are at it again in their most recent book May It Be So: Forty Days with the Lord’s Prayer, to be released September 24, 2019.
Challenging How You Think of Prayer
Having previously written on some of Justin McRoberts’ work, I am so incredibly happy to be able to do it again. After reading through an early unfinished version of May It Be So, I struggle to put into words how meaningful this book is. I laughed, cried, I was challenged – having to set it aside in order to consider what I was reading. Let me tell you this: you won’t want to put it down. My first time reading it, I devoured it from cover to cover. It overwhelmed me in the ways that I was opened up to what God is up to. Now, I wouldn’t suggest reading it that way, because it is not written as a novel, but something to be thoughtfully considered and digested slowly. Having gone through it again at a slower pace, the prayers have now had the time to sink in, working both with and within me. This book is beautifully written, challenging how you may normally think of prayer.
Apart from each section of written and illustrated prayers, which are beautiful and heart provoking in their own right, May It Be So also has multiple reflections that dive into the heart of what The Lord’s Prayer could be saying to each of us. The way that McRoberts and Erickson share this collection of art, prayers, and stories, bring forth a vision of how this world could be “on earth as it is in heaven.” Or, maybe more rightly said, how each of us can be our best as we listen to what God is calling us to.
Highlights
One of the wonderful things about May It Be So is the way in which it allows readers to come unsure of where they are at with their faith. As a Christian who continually wrestles with questions and doubts myself, it is reassuring to come into a book about prayer with the permission to hold those uncertainties. There are no judgments and no expectations, outside of discovering the next step in your own prayer journey. Each section even ends with the same prayer, “Grant me, once again, assurance of Your presence and love.” In such volatile times within the world and across denominational divides, this prayer for assurance is perhaps one of the most hope-filled prayers we could be praying.
Allowing readers to approach prayer in a different way, May It Be So is a book you will continually return to, as it opens you up to the possibility of what God can do in and through your prayer life.
Learn More: https://waterbrookmultnomah.com/book-trailer-may-it-be-so-by-justin-mcroberts-and-scott-erickson/
Be sure to check out everything that Justin and Scott are up to and pre-order May It Be So.
