As promised, I am reviewing some Lent devotionals. I did 40 Days with Labyrinths, and The Prison Letters is the second one.
The Prison Letters has a stunning cover, and I felt it was almost a shame to turn the page! Inside, the layout is pleasant as well, and the introduction explains about how to use the book.
The Prison Letters has fewer entries for the first week, as it starts on Ash Wednesday and doesn’t include the Sundays. The Prison Letters uses Paul’s letters from prison or house arrest, to share some wonderful truths each day. Each devotional has an explanation, some context, and a prayer. At the end of the week, there are extra questions to reflect and think.
Matt McChlery, the author, has done a great job in bringing together spiritual lessons in an accessible way. Not everyone keeps Lent, but The Prison Letters is such a lovely invitation to do so, simply to walk with Jesus through those forty days. The devotions are interesting and challenging, but short enough to encourage you to think more about the topic.
The Prison Letters is the kind of book where you will struggle to read one day at a time, rather than binge read the entire book, as it’s so well written and it draws you in. The devotionals are very applied and practical, and bring out what our walk with Jesus should look like.
What I liked about The Prison Letters was the variety of topics Matt touches on, and how close he brings Paul’s letters to our day to day walk now. There are seven topics, like Family, Unity and Suffering. The book challenges and encourages in so many ways! I must admit, I was hooked straight away as the first chapter is about Adoption. As an adoptive mum, that caught my attention straight away, but I found it impossible to stop reading at the end of the first day!
The Prison Letters touch on my favourite books in the Bible, with their rich lessons, although it can be hard to sit down and carve out time to particularly look at the chapters during Lent. So this book, The Prison Letters, is such a helpful tool to touch on those passages and to enjoy their richness and blessing of those words. And the extra reading at the end of the week, fitting the theme, is great, as it goes through the entire Scripture, not just the Letters. It makes looking at a particular theme easy as well, as Matt has collected them for you.
I received a copy via Matt McChlery but was under no pressure or obligation to write a favourable review.