May It Be So: Forty Days with the Lord's Prayer

May It Be So written by Justin McRoberts and illustrated by Scott Erickson is a book meant to encourage the reader to a more meaningful conversational relationship with God. It is laid out with 40 very short prayers, each paired with a contemplative image, which are intended to be read daily. The ultimate goal of the book seems to be that the prayers will help the reader recognize that he or she is loved by God, is indeed beloved by God. I read it much more quickly than the 40 days but with a plan to return to the book and journal my thoughts regarding the prayers and images presented. The author intentionally wrote brief prayers so the reader's focus would be on God's work in one's life and His love and not on the eloquence of the author's words. As well, there are seven devotional-like writings gleaned from the author's own experiences, giving the reader more guidance to focus on a specific phrase from the Lord's Prayer. I liked the simple yet thought-provoking pictures paired with the prayers as I am not a very contemplative person and the pictures made me stop and think about how they related to the prayer and ultimately to myself. Some connections I 'got' right away, others took me a bit to grasp the relationship to the prayer. In the busyness of my world, reading May It Be So encouraged me to truly think about God and His work in and through me. A couple of the prayers that resonated with me are "May I have vision in and through my trials rather than search for ways to escape them" and "May I learn to see that my needs are beautifully tangled up with what I give to others. My life is not my own." May It Be So is not a 'how-to' book on prayer but a book that encourages the reader to pray, to have a conversation with the Heavenly Father who grants His children the assurance of His presence and love. I received a complimentary copy from the publisher, Waterbrook, and was not required to write a positive review. The opinions are my own.