Disclosure: I received this complimentary product (Sheltering Mercy) through Nuts About Books. Affiliate Links will be used, thank you for your support of my blog, costs you nothing to do so, and is so much appreciated. 
So over the past couple of months I have learned to appreciate reading prayers outloud. I find that reading the prayers of others broadens my relationship with God. Sometimes when you pray the prayers of others you are blessed by their spiritual experience as well. I just finished The Power of a Praying Wife and wanted something new. So the other day I asked my hubby if he had a book of prayers in his expansive library, and he said “I think so, might take a bit to find though”. Then Sheltering Mercy came in the mail. What a lovely book! Seriously. A book filled with prayers written in free verse (my preferred style of poetry writing for myself) all based on the first 75 Psalms. I can’t wait to tell you all about it!
Sheltering Mercy, the basic Details
Sheltering Mercy with 240 pages is published by Brazos Press. It would be very easy to tuck into a book bag or purse at just 5 x 8 inches. Each poem follows chronologically from 1 through 75. Ryan Whitaker Smith and Dan Wilt share the authorship. My review is for Nuts about Books.
Getting the fuller details
There is very little art work throughout, but occasionally you’ll find these black and white custom illustrations. If I counted correctly you’ll find 10 illustrations, each different, and each symbolizing some aspect of the Christian faith.
These free-verse prayers are not meant to replace scripture. They aren’t meant to be a paraphase, or an alternate translation. Prayers are a reaction to scripture. A lyrical response from a believer’s heart back to the ear of God. Written to encourage and help our hearts to response as well.
Simple titles grace each poem, leading some insight into the direction of the prayer.
Let me show you a comparison from Psalm 17. This prayer is called Justice Plea.
Hear me, Lord, my plea is just;
listen to my cry.
Hear my prayer—
it does not rise from deceitful lips.
2 Let my vindication come from you;
may your eyes see what is right.
The prayer starts off with
Hear me, Lord!
Hear my justice plea!
How it burns within me —
a fire in my bones;
a desparate cry in the dark.
Lying voices surround me,
within and without.
Through their time is short,
they chatter endlessly —
the frantic scheming of the damned.
As you can see, not a paraphrase, or a new scriptural rendition, but a heart response to the Lord. A response, that prays scripture back to the Lord who inspired it in the first place. Just using author’s words, the author’s response back to the Lord.
Should you buy it?
Yes, please, add Sheltering Mercy: Prayers Inspired by the Psalms to your library. It won’t replace your prayers to the Lord God, but it will, perhaps, inspire you to look at a Psalm differently. Perhaps you’ll find yourself inspired to find your own words to pray scripture back to the one who sustains you.
Now perhaps poetry isn’t your thing. That’s okay. It doesn’t have to be your thing in order to help you talk to the Lord God. Don’t read it as poetry, read it as a prayer, as a communication back to God. Strengthen your relationship with the one who created you. Let your spirit be stirred anew!
You’ll appreciate the small size and the feel of the quality hardcover. It feels right in your hands. 🙂 The only thing I would change would be to encourage God’s direct word into each Psalms’ page. But this way, you can read the Psalm in your own translation, and that’s a good thing too eh? 🙂
