PRAYERS FOR THE PEOPLE

A collection of collects—short, liturgical prayers—addressing the various situations and circumstances in which young Christians find themselves today, encompassing both the heightened and mundane parts of modern life.
Meet Terry Stokes—the youth pastor that we didn't know we needed. In his debut collection of prayers, Stokes offers collects for all the things we didn't know we could pray for: for student loan cancellation, for when we're about to make small talk, for when we have the opportunity to be petty. The collection boasts an impressive range of humor and inspiration, but also spans prayers of lament and solidarity—including prayers that grieve the trauma of racism, or lament the global pandemic we find ourselves in.
In this collection, Stokes crafts language that is tender, convicting, and entertaining, and ultimately opens readers to see the wonders, joys, and access to God available in any scenario we may encounter. By putting words to the emotions and needs that lay beneath our petitions, our celebrations, and our resistance, COLLECTS FOR OUR CULTURAL MOMENT makes for an engaging, heartfelt, and important read for any person of faith in the modern age.

Terry Stokes currently serves as the Associate Pastor of Youth & Community Engagement at the Reformed Church of Highland Park, New Jersey. He weaves together his experience in several church contexts, his theological education, his knowledge of pop culture, and his devotional life to write prayers that delight, convict, and encourage the heart of today's church.

“Wonderfully blending traditional prayer rhetoric with humor and an eye for contemporary concerns, Stokes's work [is] a stimulating, inspiring resource.”—Publishers Weekly (starred review)

“What a gift Terry Stokes has given us. Like the best of the ancient psalms, these modern collects don't shy from reality and express trust in a loving God who cares intimately about our everyday lives. This is the prayer book I need right now, full of humor and beauty, candor and holy longing.”—Jeff Chu, co-curator of Evolving Faith and author of Does Jesus Really Love Me?

“From the petty to the profound, Terry Stokes's Prayers for the People gives us the language and courage we need to go boldly before the throne of God in prayer, asking for what we desire and need. The scope of prayers within this book will bless the prayer warrior and the prayer adverse.”—Ekemini Uwan, public theologian and co-host of the podcast Truth's Table