The Barber Who Wanted to Pray

The Barber Who Wanted to Pray
By R.C. Sproul
Published at Crossway

About the book

This imaginative tale, based on a true story, begins one evening with Mr. McFarland leading family devotions. When his daughter asks him how she should pray, Mr. McFarland shares a 500-year-old story—a story about a barber and his famous customer.

Master Peter is a barber well known to all in his village. One day, when Martin Luther the Reformer walks into his shop, the barber musters up the courage to ask the outlawed monk how to pray. Dr. Luther responds by writing a letter to the barber (a letter that we know today as the book, A Simple Way to Pray!). The barber’s life is changed as he encounters a model for prayer by using the Lord’s Prayer, the Ten Commandments, and the Apostles’ Creed.

R. C. Sproul’s beautifully illustrated story will engage children and help them learn to pray according to the Bible. Dr. Sproul’s unique gift for explaining complex truths will make this a treasured book to be returned to time after time—a delight for both children and their parents!

My Thoughts

Imagine that you are a small child and that you are listening to your father praying one night.   You are ashamed at your own prayers because his are so beautiful.    You asked him to teach you how to pray in ways that will make Jesus happy.   That’s how the story start as you peek into an evening of devotions and singing in the McFarland family.   The father immediately proceed to tell the story of The Barber Who Wanted to Pray.

This story is apparently 500  years old and will tell you how Luther wrote his book titled A Simple Way to Pray.  The barber of the village was curious on how he should pray and while tending to his famous customer, he asked questions to him.   Dr. Luther responded by writing a letter to him which is now a book today!    As he encounters a prayer life based on the Lord’s Prayer, the Ten Commandments as well as the Apostle’s Creed, the life of the barber is transformed.

The book is a pleasure to read and to look at.   The illustrations are fabulous and reminds me paintings.   The story is inspiring and will encourage you (and your kids!) to develop a life of prayer.

At the end of the book, you can also read the Ten Commandments, the Lord’s Prayer as well as the Apostles’ Creed.  

If your kids express an interest in learning more about prayer or you simply want to develop this precious spiritual discipline in their lives, I think this book will be a great insight on what prayer is.  

The Barber Who Wanted to Pray is available at your favorite bookstore, even amazon.ca.

Disclaimer: Thanks to Crossway for sending me the above mentioned product for review purposes. I was not monetarily compensated for this review. Please note that the review was not influenced by the Sponsor in any way. All opinions expressed here are only my own.