Minister's Prayer Book

“Ministers, like all Christians, need to pray. Yet they often need help to pray as they yearn to do. Generations have found this classic a faithful companion through each week, through the Christian year, and through the dimensions of pastoral vocation–all in conversation with Scripture and the church’s wisdom. This affectionate update freshens language and expands sources to reflect ministry in our time, when ministers are more diverse but prayer is as urgent as ever.” –Elizabeth Eaton, presiding bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America

“Minister’s Prayer Book has supported me and countless others for many years. Its organizing principle of Scripture, prayer, and meditation is fundamentally right. This pastoral guide now reappears in a thoughtfully updated version, its classical structure intact but with the addition of new prayers and contemporary voices. It is a reclaimed treasure. I will be using it again on a daily basis. It belongs in every minister’s hands–and heart.” –Richard Lischer, Duke Divinity School, author of Open Secrets: A Memoir of Faith and Discovery

“After four decades in ministry, I still find that one simple practice has grounded me on the best days and the most challenging days. Reading a daily devotion, drawn from holy Scripture and a rich array of theological writings and prayers, has been my practice for many years. This revised version of Doberstein’s Minister’s Prayer Book, enhanced by new selections and fresher language, holds a treasure trove for pastors, deacons, and all Christians. Open it and see.” –Patricia J. Lull, bishop of the Saint Paul Area Synod, ELCA

“Here, prayer and preaching are grounded in God’s down-to-earth gospel, not in mystical flights of the soul. With Luther and Bonhoeffer, Doberstein guides the minister ‘to know the blessings of God’s word, heard personally in all its severity and love.’ This revised edition is a gift to a new generation.” –David L. Tiede, professor and president emeritus, Luther Seminary

“If you find prayer difficult, this book is for you. If you find prayer easy, this book is for you. If you are dry in prayer, you will find this book a font. If your prayer flows, you will find fresh streams. New, old, and ancient prayers have been carefully selected and brilliantly arranged, well-suited for both rookie and veteran ministers as a resource in their service to others and even more so in the enrichment of their own prayer life.” –Matthew Riegel, bishop of West Virginia-Western Maryland Synod, ELCA

“As a young pastor, I searched in vain for a faithful and effective devotional book compatible with Lutheran theology, liturgical rhythms, and the fast pace of ministry. This resource fulfills that ministry-long search. Updated with contemporary writers and the introduction of women’s voices, this revision of a classic provides adaptable methods and materials that support today’s demanding, uncharted ministries in mission. It engages a foundational gift of the Reformation: spirituality solidly grounded in God’s word. I heartily recommend it and will use it for pastoral formation with the seminarians I teach.” –Mary Sue Dreier, professor of pastoral care and missional leadership, Lutheran Theological Southern Seminary of Lenoir-Rhyne University

“This revised edition makes a devotional classic available to a new generation of ministers. Those of us who have found the riches of the Minister’s Prayer Book to be helpful in all phases of our vocation will find it now has been coordinated with the Common Lectionary and has brought new voices into its collection of readings. It meets the many challenges specific to ministry with the rich spiritual resources of every age–including our own.” –H. George Anderson, presiding bishop emeritus, ELCA

Timothy J. Wengert is emeritus professor of church history at the United Lutheran Seminary. A parish pastor for seven years in Minnesota and Wisconsin with a doctorate from Duke University, he taught on Philadelphia’s faculty from 1989 to 2013. He has written extensively on the Reformation, was coeditor of the English edition of The Book of Concord and translated Luther’s Small Catechism, used throughout the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. In addition to books on Philip Melanchthon and Martin Luther, he coauthored with Susan Wood a book on Lutheran/Roman Catholic relations, Shared Spiritual Journey (2016), and currently serves on the US Lutheran/Roman Catholic dialogue. He lives in Long Valley, New Jersey.