The Mercy Prayer

Robert Gelinas is Lead Pastor of Colorado Community Church a vibrant multi-cultural, interdenominational community of 3000+ followers of Christ in the Denver area (www.coloradocommunity.org).  Gelinas holds a B.A. in Biblical Studies and an M.A. in Missiology from Denver Seminary. He is the author of the book "The Most Answered Prayer" (Thomas Nelson, 2013) and "Finding the Groove: Composing a Jazz-Shaped Faith" (Zondervan).
Founder of Project 127: A ministry devoted to emptying Colorado's foster care system. (www.project127.com)
He and his wife, Barbara, live in Denver with their six children.
For his blog, sermons/podcasts, and speaking requests please visit:www.robertgelinas.net.

"Lord, have mercy."
A raw plea for intervention.  The most prayed prayer in the bible.  And a request that God always grants, often in surprising ways.  In The Mercy Prayer, Robert Gelinas blends biblical wisdom with penetrating personal encounters and keen insight into familiar stories.  The result is a practical guide for receiving the mercy we all desperately need and letting it flow from us into the lives of others.
The Mercy Prayer reveals:
How God's abundant compassion is at the core of His character and was central to the earthly mission of Jesus.
The truth that simply praying the Mercy Prayer and anticipating mercy's arrival can soothe a wounded soul and change a life from the inside out.
Practical ways to carry God's mercy into the muck and mire of a hurting world, offering comfort and hope in the name of Christ.
How you can make the most frequent prayer in the Bible your most prayed prayer, too, by learning to pray with every breath you take and every beat of your heart.
The Mercy Prayer invites each of us to become a student of heavenly compassion and clemency, to immerse ourselves in it, to embrace the responsibility of seeing all life in view of God's mercy - and to watch as this simple-yet-profound cry reshapes us and our world.  Everybody needs mercy.

My Thoughts:
The Mercy Prayer is only 175 pages; however, the author covers a lot of ground in those few pages.  Siting biblical accounts as well as personal experiences and applicable examples, Gelinas gives the reader a good introduction to the concept of God's mercy.  I think the short length didn't give the author the room to thoroughly flesh out some points.  While I appreciated much of what Gelinas said in the book, I felt it was too lite on the reason we require the mercy of God in our lives - the sinfulness of fallen humanity.  
With that said, again, there is much to appreciate about this offering from Gelinas.  I particularly loved this quote in chapter 4, When You're In Need:  "Grace is receiving what we don't deserve.  But before we can receive what we don't deserve, God must first refrain from giving us what we do deserve.  Mercy carves a path for God's grace."
Gelinas does encourage the reader to learn to incorporate a cry for mercy into his/her daily prayer life and reminds us that we ask of a God Who is waiting to give in abundance.

Blessings,
Jennifer