This prayer book is the best all around prayer book for daily personal (or even family)use. The Scriptures are addressed back to God and arranged by category (with direction to add certain categories of requests inbetween the sections). This adds structure to ones prayer life and breaks the monotony of "grocery list" praying. This one is a little longer than, "Praying the Scriptures for Spiritual Growth" or the "Simple Prayers" books; in my own personal devotions, it takes me about 7 minutes per daily prayer segment.

Boa has written several prayer books, all great, all solid. This is my favorite to date.

Many times when we pray we don't know where to get started, what to do, many times we just want a deeper prayer life.

This book will scripturally guide you through praying...not only the scriptures, but will guide you in praying for your world around you. It begins with praise and worship of Almighty God, leads you in a confession of Who He is, then guides you through personal renewal, petitions, intercession, and then a prayer of thanksgiving.

One of the things I liked best about this book was that it started out with each section, declaring the Word of God, then it guides you (differently each day) to pray for your leaders one day, your family the next, that you will be a faithful steward of your time and money, for God's wisdom...the list goes on and on.

Both this book and "Praying the Scriptures for Spiritual Growth" are two of the best prayer/devotional books I have ever used. If I could only keep two, these would be the two I would keep. Not only are they easy to follow, they are taken directly from the Word of God.

Face to Face is a wonderful tool to help you pray. Boa has assembled scripture into eight sections for each day. You pray through scripture for Adoration, Confession, Renewal, Petition, Intercession, Affirmation, Thanksgiving and Closing. It helps you focus and it gives a marvelous sense of the completeness of God's word. I do not recommend very many books but this is one that I would recommend to anyone. I have already given away 20 copies.

This reviewer is no expert; neither is he knowledgeable in ancient Hebrew. So this make his review more suited for the layperson instead of the pastor. He has, nonetheless, decided to write a review because he likes this commentary.

The author, Roland Murphy, is a scholar in his own right and is well known, having published a commentary on Ecclesiastes.

This commentary provides its own translation, which makes comparing the text to known Bible versions interesting and helpful. Murphy's translation is at times wooden: Murphy tried to follow the form of the text more than other translations. Thus, his translation does add value and makes reading the text strikingly new. Not only is the feel closer to the original tongue (from what I can gather) but it also has more assonance and alliteration of the ancient Hebrew.

Concerning his commentary, Murphy's detailed discussions are remarkable and his comments are most helpful and filled with insight.

To give you a taste of his translation style, below are two well-known Proverbs in the traditional text followed by Murphy's translation. For Proverbs 16:18, Murphy's beliefs on translation come through are quite clearly.

Proverbs 15:1

Traditional: A soft answer turneth away wrath: but grievous words stir up anger.

Murphy: A soft answer turns back wrath, but a sharp tongue stirs up anger.

Proverbs 16:18

Traditional: Pride goeth before destruction, and an haughty spirit before a fall.

Murphy: Before a collapse, pride, and before stumbling, haughtiness of spirit.

I bought this as a reference guide, but found I had a great deal of difficulty putting it down. The explanations are comprehensive, informative and not only guide you through the bible, but give you a history of the people and their time.

If you are a student of the Bible and you can only afford one quality Bible dictionary, get this one. If you already have another dictionary, get this one - it will soon become your favorite. Big, colorful, READABLE print and index - it is exactly what a student needs to find things fast and to have a clear explanation when he finds it. Worth the investment.

This is an excellent resource for anyone who desires a one volume, comprehensive dictionary of all things biblical. The entries are arranged in alphabetical order and cover nearly every theme and topic imaginable. The book has those one would expect (e.g. Trinity, Jesus), as well as information that is more specialized (e.g. a 5-page entry on biblical minerals). If something is mentioned in the Bible then it should be here. After all, there are over 7,000 entries and many are several pages long. It contains entries on non-biblical topics too (e.g. Philo and Josephus). My favorite articles are those on the books of the Bible (primarily the Protestant canon, although there is an entry on the apocrypha). They examine such issues as authorship, dating, content, and theology. All of the entries are scholarly, informative, and for the most part, written in "layman's terms." Many famous scholars have contributed, including F.F. Bruce and Daniel Wallace. There are cross-references to the major bible translations including the NIV, KJV, NRSV, and REB. The notes are non-denominational and usually well balanced and are written from an evangelical, conservative Protestant standpoint. For readers interested in a more critical approach, I would recommend the Oxford Companion to the Bible.

There are other reasons to buy this book too. The introduction explains how best to use the dictionary and includes a good survey of biblical history and theology in chart form. There are hundreds of full color maps, pictures, and photographs to illuminate the written words. For example, under the entry for Pontius Pilate there is a photograph of an inscription from a Roman theater bearing his name. There is a section containing maps too. Also, the type size is enlarged for easier reading. Overall, this is a great resource, especially for Christians who want to know more about the people, places, things, and doctrines of the Bible.