The Mercy Prayer by Robert Gelinas

This book is about the Bible’s most frequently prayed prayer, and the author does an excellent job of demonstrating the occasions for those requests and the responses from God, especially in times of sin and suffering. At times, this book is profound, such as when it contrasts two accounts, in Matthew 9 and 20, of blind men seeking healing. The author shows that while those mercy pleas both resulted in healing, in the first account, their blindness caused the men to follow Jesus, and in the second to face the ramifications of what healing would bring. From these accounts, the author extrapolates the premise that sometimes mercy says “yes”, and sometimes mercy says “no” for a time, and either answer can draw us closer to God. Taken to heart, this book could change your spiritual life, helping you to see that a plea for mercy can become like breathing, leaving you constantly leaning on God for strength. This book referenced Scripture skillfully and effectively. It challenged me and changed me. I highly recommend it. I received this book for free in exchange for my unbiased review through the Thomas Nelson BookSneeze Program.