Each publishing season, books of prayers and about the practice of prayer are second in title output only to the mega-subcategories of spirituality and inspiration. Retailers are faced with a plethora of choices on prayer, but when asked for their opinions on the books, these days they quickly sort themselves into two camps: those who can't stop talking about The Prayer of Jabez and those who never mention the whopper bestseller. One thing they all agree on is the continued popularity of one of religion's 800-lb. topics. While some point to a glut, others say customers are still asking for books that will guide and encourage them in this central religious practice.
The Jabez Juggernaut
When the history of religion publishing is written, there will surely be a chapter on The Prayer of Jabez. This small-format 96-page book, which asserts that the obscure prayer of a little-known Old Testament figure will bring untold blessings to those who pray it daily, has certainly delivered for its author, Bruce Wilkinson, and his publisher, Multnomah. Not only was Jabez the #1 nonfiction title on PW's 2001 bestseller list, but its sales of 8 million were the highest ever in the history of that end-of-the-year compilation. With sales currently estimated at more than 9 million, it isn't hyperbole to call it a true publishing phenomenon.
Originally released in November 2000, Jabez still tops many bestseller lists. Barnes & Noble reports that Jabez is its most popular prayer book, hands down. And Amazon.com even has a separate Prayer of Jabez store on its site, peddling everything from Jabez journals, music CDs and calendars to the high-end leather edition of the book that started it all.
At Gospel Supplies, a CBA store in Tucson, Ariz., Jabez has long been featured on the store's own hardcover bestseller list, usually in one of the top two positions. Owner Winston Maddox attributes the book's immense popularity to its emphasis on God's sovereignty. "It also reminds us that God is a God who is involved with us on a day-to-day basis," said Maddox.
As a book about the essential religious practice of prayer, Jabez is not without its critics. Some say it overemphasizes an "abundance" mentality in which God comes off as a big Santa Claus in the sky. While some critiques smack of sour grapes, a good number have validity, according to Maddox: "There's a tendency--and this can be a danger--to lift out of context a particular verse and say this allows me to demand something of God."
Concerns about the "magic formula" approach of Jabez prompted several books in response, among them Praying Like Jesus: The Lord's Prayer in a Culture of Prosperity (Harper San Francisco, 2001), in which theologian James Mulholland asserts that "Jabez got it wrong." Mulholland urges Christians to learn to pray from Jesus, not Jabez, and argues that the point of prayer isn't to get what you want, but to receive what you need.
Even those who accept Wilkinson's theology can find his book simplistic. "The prayer of Jabez is a nice prayer, but people start asking, 'What's the next step?' There's definitely a need for books that take people deeper," said David McGee, buyer for Lifeway Christian Stores, a chain of 109 CBA stores located primarily in the southeast and southwest.
The Prayer of Jabez, which has had strong appeal across gender lines, has grown into a powerful franchise, with a line designed to embrace every demographic. Last summer, there was The Prayer of Jabez for Kids, The Prayer of Jabez for Little Ones (a board book) and The Prayer of Jabez for Teens. Now Wilkinson's wife Darlene has written The Prayer of Jabez for Women, which shot to #2 on Lifeway's bestseller list after its March release; it appeared on the New York Times advice/self-help list at #5 on March 24.
Powerful Performances
But Wilkinson is not the only big-time prayer guru in evangelical circles. Before there was Jabez, there was Stormie Omartian, author of the extremely successful Power of a Praying... series, which has sold 3.6 million copies. Omartian currently monopolizes the top three spots on the CBA paperback nonfiction bestseller list. "Stormie really started the resurgence of interest in prayer with The Power of a Praying Wife," McGee said. "Then Jabez got the idea of prayer out to the masses."
The Power of a Praying Wife (Harvest House, 1997) was actually the second book in the series; The Power of a Praying Parent had been published two years earlier. The Power of a Praying Husband came in 2001, and two more titles will be added this year: The Power of a Praying Nation (Mar.) and The Power of a Praying Woman (July). Part of the explanation for the appeal of Omartian's books is their solid aim at the key demographic for prayer books--women. Even the Husband title is primarily purchased by women to give to their husbands, Maddox of Gospel Supplies reported.
The Wilkinson and Omartian mega-success stories illustrate the trend of author-driven titles and the high-yield "branding" of those authors and their products. When CBA shoppers aren't gravitating toward big-name authors, however, it seems they're attracted to books about big-name prayers. The Lord's Prayer was the topic of two CBA top sellers in the prayer category--and both books have the same title. (They are also both intended as correctives to Jabez.) The Prayer of Jesus by Hank Hanegraaff (W Publishing Group, 2001) and Ken Hemphill's book of the same title for Broadman & Holman (also 2001)--have both sold well, retailers report. Another consistent seller has been Beth Moore's Praying God's Word (B&H, 2000). Maddox predicts her star is "on the rise."
Beyond Mass Sales
This desire to communicate with the Creator seems to be as universal as the need for assistance with the practice. But some booksellers say the prayer book market may be maxed out--at least with some types of books. "There's definitely been a trend toward more devotional books in the past few years," said John Seal, manager of the Graduate Theological Union Bookstore in Berkeley, Calif. "At this point, I'd say that market is fairly glutted." Devotionals, general guides to prayer and CBA-published books don't sell well at GTU, a liberal seminary store. "I don't think a lot of people are looking for basic instruction or guidance," said Seal. "They want something illuminating about something they already know or do."
Others agree that general how-tos on prayer are not on most readers' lists. "What people are looking for is specificity," said Tom Rider, co-owner of Goerings Book Store, a general-interest indie near the University of Florida in Gainesville. Prayer books for older women, for women in the church or about war, the environment or death are niches that could use more titles, he believes. Said Rider: "Most people think of prayer as reading books on inspiration or meditation, instead of getting down on their knees by their bedside."
More books that help people pray outside church walls would speak to today's seekers who often find spiritual sustenance apart from institutions, retailers say. "People around here say they don't go to church on Sunday, but that they go to church in the mountains," said Donna Urey, owner of White Birch Books, located in the White Mountains of New Hampshire. There tourists and townies alike purchase copies of Blue Mountain: A Spiritual Anthology Celebrating the Earth (Menasha Ridge Press, 2000), but otherwise prayer books are not big sellers at White Birch. The fact that the town's Christian bookstore and one devoted to inspiration and meditation books both went out of business may illustrate the region's maverick spirituality. Those looking for spiritual guidance purchase books by Thoreau, Thich Nhat Hanh and the Dalai Lama. "But it doesn't seem to be connected to traditional prayer books," noted Urey.
Yet many people are trying to connect with religious traditions--usually the ones they were born into but have drifted away from. Those who stop in at the Cathedral Bookstore, an Episcopal shop in Atlanta, often ask for books on prayer. "I see a tremendous desire to deepen that relationship with God," said assistant manager Gail Pitt. "But they don't so much want books on the philosophy of prayer, but rather practical things that will help them."
More and more, Pitt said, that means books that revive ancient Christian practices, such as fixed-hour prayer, or otherwise connect modern-day seekers with their monastic ancestors. Phyllis Tickle's three volumes of The Divine Hours (Doubleday, 2000/2001) are consistent performers, helped along by handselling by Pitt, herself a fixed-hour aficionado. "The practice was very instrumental in my own growing spiritual relationship with God," she testifies. "I think people like fixed-hour prayer because it causes them to stop at different times of the day and reflect and focus on God."
Pitt also sees a heightened interest in prayer books that focus on ancient mystics, such as Hildegard of Bingen or Bernard of Clairvaux. "I think it's a very comforting thing to find out that they had the same struggles as we do," she said. Rider of Goerings also has noted interest in medieval saints as prayer guides. "People want continuity with religious traditions," he said.
Trek Toward Tradition
For those who may have missed Sunday school or otherwise lacked religious instruction, there is a need for traditional prayer books that are more accessible. That is especially the case in Judaism, whose prayers are written in Hebrew. "The problem with having a sacred language that is not everyone's vernacular is that you can go to pray and not know what you're saying. It sounds beautiful, but spiritually it doesn't connect," said Michele Yanow, co-owner of Tree of Life Judaica and Books in Seattle.
Although most liturgical prayer books, or siddurs, are published by the Jewish denominations, other publishers are putting out versions to help the Hebrew-impaired. Some offer transliterations with the Hebrew spelled out phonetically in English, while others do interlinear translations, with the English printed below the Hebrew. Books like the five-volume My People's Prayerbook (Jewish Lights), which breaks down the worship service and offers commentaries on each part, are very helpful, Yanow said. "People often come into the store and say they want to pray but there are barriers. They go into the synagogue and are embarrassed because they don't know what to do."
As in other religious traditions, two seemingly contradictory trends seem to coexist in non-Orthodox Judaism: a desire for more contemporary attitudes and translations, including gender-neutral language, while at the same time a pull toward traditional roots. Yanow sells a lot of Marcia Falk's Book of Blessings (Beacon, 1999) in part because of its inclusive language. At the same time, Boomers and older Gen-Xers who never learned Hebrew are feeling like they've missed out on something important. "Even in the Reform movement there are people who want to learn Hebrew and who want more of it in their prayer books," said Yanow. "Everybody's trying to reach out to those people."
Some Catholics also seem to be yearning for traditional prayers, though a desire to return to Latin hasn't yet materialized. At Pauline Book and Media Center in downtown Chicago, a popular prayer title is Queen of Apostles Prayerbook, which is published by the same order of nuns who run the bookstore, the Daughters of St. Paul. Store manager Sister Michelle Jane Black said customers appreciate the book's traditional prayers, as well its more spontaneous prayers for special needs. Books on the lectio divina method of praying the scriptures have been selling well, Black noted, as do ever-popular Catholic authors like Thomas Merton, Henri Nouwen, Joyce Rupp and Robert Wicks.
Despite anecdotal evidence to the contrary, September 11 did not precipitate this trek toward tradition--it began long before that fateful day. Still, unsettling times do lead many to get down on their knees. "I think the more unstable our society becomes, people turn to that one stable element in their life--that's God," said Black.
