There are a plethora of little books with a paragraph or so of information, verses, and a prayer (see the Touchpoints series also published by Tyndale), and Prayer Points: Praying God’s Promises at Your Point of Need is not much different. Alphabetically organized for “any need or problem you wish to address” (v), each point offers a general description, three verses perceived as “God’s Promise,” a sample prayer, and a sentence or two for further guidance. There are two indexes: topical (each entry is categorized as either emotional, physical, relational, or spiritual) and scriptural (the topical index repeated but with the verses included with each entry listed underneath, meaning it cannot be used to find an entry based in biblical order of scripture). The book itself looks like a small journal, bound in imitation leather with an embossed spine and ¾ dust jacket.

As with any of these types of books, entries range from encouraging to utterly unhelpful, relevant and pointed to completely out of context. Not all “promises” listed are promises at all (some rather situation specific in scripture), but it’s difficult to come up with over 170 entries and find a “promise” for each one without forcing some into the mold. It’s about as expected. The primary translation used is New Living Translation, while also using English Standard Version, New International Version, and Eugene Peterson’s paraphrase The Message, which I wouldn’t use as “quoting the Bible.” Whichever best fits the promise language model is that which is used as a reference.

I can see this being beneficial for some, but those looking for depth and more relevant application need look elsewhere.

*This book was provided by Tyndale House Publishers for review. I was not required to write a positive review, nor was I offered or provided any compensation.