Prayer at Night's Approaching

by Jim Cotter

Book Overview

Seekers and church members today are rediscovering the power of many of Christianity's ancient traditions, such as Evening Prayer. For many years now, in England, they have turned to the writing of Jim Cotter. In fact, the New Zealand Prayer Book's Evening Prayer section comes largely from Prayer at Night's Approaching . In this hardcover volume, meant to be treasured for a lifetime, there are prayers for the seven days of the week plus additional...

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0819217727
• ISBN13: 9780819217721
• Release Date: October 1998
• Publisher: Morehouse Publishing
• Length: 192 Pages
• Weight: 4.75 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.7" x 4.3" x 6.8"

Customer Reviews

compline

Cotter does a wonderful rewrite of night prayers, or compline. The language is inclusive, as well as fresh. Some of his images are really wonderful. The layout allows one to easily follow along with the prayers. I pray most evenings, over the phone, with another friend who has the same book. I really love it. Cotter has written an equally wonderful morning prayer version, but it is only available from the UK at this point.

Prayers that move your soul

Read the editorial reviews for accurate, factual descriptions of the contents. The beauty and unique contribution of Cotter's book of daily night prayers come from his exquisite phrasing, fresh metaphors and images for the Holy One, and flexibility for each reader/prayer's needs. Other reviewers have mentioned his easy, natural use of inclusive language. He goes farther; his language for God is expansive and creative. I am reminded that the whole Universe bears the imprint of the image of God. Those from the Anglican or RC liturgical traditions may find this volume most accessible, but any Christian wishing to deepen her or his relationship to God might find it helpful. I can give no higher compliment than to say that I have been giving Cotter's book as gifts for almost every occasion since I discovered it some months ago. Warning: Be prepared, upon reading this book, to become a "Cotter groupie."

First Rate

Jim Cotter's slim voume has graced my bedside table now for many months and usually finds a spot in my suitcase when I travel. I am a member of a choir that sings the office of compline monthly and I have developed a great love of the service. Jim's version is fresh and inviting. The language is both prayerful and poetic. It is satisfying.Jim has done an excellent job of creating a prayerbook that is inclusive in language without any obvious effort. It does not stand out that this is an inclusive langauge effort, it is simply good prayer. There are one or two bits that seem a little odd to my ears, for example the allusions to God as unicorn and other unsual creatures. Even those simply startle one into new thoughts. There is only one such reference in the order of prayer for each day of the week, so even this is a minimal issue. As a tool, Jim's book succeeds. The organization is logical and convenient. Organized by day of the week, all material is readily at hand. Even when exhausted at the end of the day, I can pick up this volume and find myself prompted for a little peaceful prayer before dropping off to sleep.The volume is nicely printed, well bound and the included ribbon marker is useful. The cloth binding gives every appearance of promising to stand up well to regular use. While I have other prayerbooks downstairs in my study, this is the one that stays on my bedside table. Recommended.

a beautiful aid to meditation

my copy came to me as a gift.it is the first inclusive language prayer book i have seen that is elegant and poetic. it is full of the kind of vibrancy and life that until now i thought was confined to the ancient prayers.there is, in the introduction, a suggestion for its use as a companion for those who are awake in the night either because they are watching with someone, or because they are themselves sleepless. if you love poetry, you will love this book.

Joyful, compact, inclusive evening prayer book

This is a great book! It's evening prayer based on the Catholic or Episcopalian service, but designed to be read by one or a few lay people. It has a different version of the service for each night of the week, with the whole service in order, which minimizes page-turning. Then there are a few variations in the back for the different liturgical seasons, a few extra multi-purpose prayers and room to write in your own stuff. But that makes it sound much more boring than it is. The whole service has been re-written in modern, very inclusive language. There is not a "Father Son and Holy Spirit" in the whole thing, but the great part is that I didn't even realize it until I was half-way through the service. Unlike a lot of inclusive languge versions, this one is not at all awkward. It's poetic, with tons of poetic images for God. There are some difficult images (God as a snow leopard?) which the author acknowledges in the intro. But it's wonderfully joyful, slightly humorous, and a great ending for my day. I look forward to it nightly.