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PRAYERFUL PASSAGES

Asking God's Help in Reconciliation,

Separation, and Divorce

Jack H. Emmott

Genre: Religion / Spirituality / Devotional
Publisher: Outskirts Press
Date of Publication: February 9, 2016
# of pages: 64

The power of asking God for help while struggling to save a marriage, separating, divorcing, or rebuilding life is the driving force behind Prayerful Passages: Asking God’s Help in Reconciliation, Separation, and Divorce by Jack H. Emmott. The fifty-six prayers are practical, touching on all shades of difficulty. They are specific and short; accessible and comforting; inspiring and inspired.

In Prayerful Passages, Jack has opened the doors of comfort and healing to guide a Christian struggling with the anger, loss, and grief that inevitably arise during the separation, divorce, and reconciliation stages of a marriage in peril. Open the doors of your own heart to God’s grace and healing. These prayers will aid you in your journey.

PRAISE FOR PRAYERFUL PASSAGES:

In Prayerful Passages, Jack Emmott, with profound clarity, helps faithful people struggling in their marriage to find not only the words they need to pray, but also the Divine Presence and power they need in challenging life circumstances. -- Rev. Stuart Bates, Rector, St. Francis Episcopal Church, Houston

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This book will make an ideal gift for a friend or family member going through divorce. I wish the families I’ve seen in family court had been able to make their difficult passages with these prayers in their hearts and on their lips. This book would have alleviated their anguish.-- Frank Rynd, J.D., Former Family Law Judge

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A compelling sharing of compassion—this book shows the impact a prayerful, Christ-centered life can have on the human spirit. What a powerful read . . . I was wowed by its wisdom. -- Larry R. Cook, CPA

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All you have to do is open to the table of contents to see the brilliance of this wise voice that pushes us all to see the world as a more inclusive, loving place where we are all perfectly imperfect children of God. Jack offers his reader empathy, wisdom and redemption for the human spirit. Don’t miss the wisdom of a man who has lived into surrender at an early age as his polio left him trapped in an iron lung to survive. But, he didn’t just survive; he blossomed and thrives today, venerating the love of the Divine for all of us. This is a must-read for all of us who want to live more fully into our loving relationships.-- Micki Grimland, LCSW, Owner and Chief Psychotherapist, Southwest Psychotherapy Associates

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Hall Ways Review: In Prayerful Passages, author Jack H. Emmott perfectly captures the desperation and devastating emotions that accompany an unraveling marriage. In the chaos of losing control of a relationship, Emmott's prayers allow people experiencing helplessness to find a measure of control by focusing on intentional prayers.

Clearly, Emmott is familiar with the wide range of not-so-Christian-like feelings and thoughts that bubble up to the surface in times of marital distress, and he doesn't shy away from them. Instead, Emmott provides specific prayers that address issues like wanting revenge, and in doing so, allows readers to recognize that they are not alone in their struggles with spiritually unhealthy thoughts. These focused prayers are also reminders that though unhealthy thoughts are normal, they are also destructive and best handed over to God.

The prayer topics are clearly listed, and the prayers are all fairly parallel in structure. Having this repetitive structure gives readers a comfortable and comforting place to return to time and again. Emmott demonstrates that when readers ask for God's help, they are taking a powerful step forward towards coping with and recovering from marital strife. The blank pages at the back of the book will encourage readers to write down their own notations as the prayers guide them into further reflections.

Though Emmott does give his personal view on divorce in the introduction, his prayers are never judgmental and are a simple, straightforward, and powerful way for anyone who feels lost and incapable of fixing a marriage to do something positive. The prayers are well-written and thoughtful, and I look forward to seeing how The Companion Guide Book enhances the prayer book.

What makes Prayerful Passages: Asking God’s Help in Reconciliation, Separation, and Divorce appealing is the courage, calling and faith of its author Jack H. Emmott. In 1954, just as the Salk vaccine was entering massive medical trials, Jack was stricken with polio and paralyzed from the neck down. With faith in God and selfless help from his parents, educators, healthcare providers, and later his wife Dorothy and his close-knit family, he became a successful lawyer, civic leader, volunteer, inspirational speaker, author, and song writer. Though today confined to a motorized wheelchair, he has long navigated as a full member of society.

As a member at Gray Reed & McGraw in Houston, Texas, with over thirty-five years working in family law, Jack primarily focuses on collaborative law, a resolution option for divorcing couples. In collaborative process, couples mutually agree to voluntary disclosure of relevant information, which is much faster and less expensive than formal discovery. The children are protected and shared, not divided like property.

His life experience and abiding faith in God led Jack to write Prayerful Passages: Asking God’s Help in Reconciliation, Separation, and Divorce. Jack says, “The exact words of the title Prayerful Passages literally came to me one night during evening prayer. I felt, at that very moment, I had received an invitation from God to write a book of prayers to help others and to please the God who had always accompanied me in the darkness of disability.”