Jan Karon’s newest book, Bathed in Prayer: Father Tim’s Prayers, Sermons, and Reflections from the Mitford Series, is dedicated “For my readers, with gratitude.” This delightful volume is certainly a welcome gift to all who mourned when Jan announced that To Be Where You Are would be her final Mitford novel. Bathed in Prayer is an anthology, not a novel, but it takes us joyfully back into the world of Father Tim.
The book opens with a new essay in which Jan recounts her intertwined journeys to authorship and to faith. She found new life in Christ at age forty-two, but it was six more years before she stepped out in faith to pursue her lifelong dream of writing and two more years after that before she realized she must surrender her work, as well as her life, to God. She learned to bathe her work in prayer, and the result is fourteen novels, two small Christmas books, a cookbook, four anthologies, and three children’s books—all beloved by readers around the globe.
Jan’s faith and dedication to her work are inspiring, and the nine-page essay left me longing for her to write her autobiography or a memoir of her life as an author, along the lines of Eudora Welty’s One Writer’s Beginnings.
Bathed in Prayer includes excerpts from all fourteen Mitford novels, and each section is introduced by a meaningful quotation or Bible verse. Occasional commentary provides helpful context for both new readers and long-time fans, and all quotes are identified by chapter number, making it easy to locate them in any edition. Quotes from The Book of Common Prayer are identified in footnotes—an especially helpful feature for non-Episcopalians.
Bathed in Prayer serves as a key to many of the most important spiritual lessons of the Mitford series: the necessity of forgiveness, the joy of community, the significance of ordinary life, and above all, the Apostle Paul’s exhortation to “pray without ceasing” (I Thessalonians 5:17).
Paul also tells us, “Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God” (Philippians 4:6). Father Tim and other Mitford characters really do pray about everything. The prayers in this collection address an astounding variety of situations: birthdays, weddings, and funerals; mornings, meals, and bedtime; illness, depression, and fear; pregnancy and adoption; hospital beds and deathbeds; decisions about business, ministry, and retirement; family, friends, enemies, and even wrong numbers; caves, storms, and travel; daily life and extraordinary circumstances; thanksgiving, supplication, and above all, repentance and conversion. Praying about everything reminds them—and us—that God is in control.
I believe that the power of the Mitford series is partly due to the fact that Jan’s work, like Father Tim’s, is bathed in prayer. Jan writes that Father Tim “helped drive me deeper into my faith and helped teach me the sublime beauty of loving others.” He has done the same for millions of readers, who have found a deeper faith, consolation in sorrow, hope in suffering, and joy in ordinary life through Mitford.
The profound impact of Mitford extends far beyond individuals, however. Jan has often stated that Mitford is everywhere. In Bathed in Prayer, she explains, “You can even find it in the heart of darkness. But we must do our part. We must give a hand, we must learn to console and uplift and encourage and be courageous. Bottom line, we simply cannot wait for others to reach out. We must reach in.”
Communities of friends, both online and in real life, have developed around the shared love of Mitford. Readers gather to eat, travel, and fellowship. They share good news and heartache, and they lift up one another in prayer. This demonstrates the power of Jan’s writing and, more importantly, the power of God, who brings us together.
If you’d like to enjoy the Mitford novels in the company of others, join us at the Mitford Book Club, where we’re exploring the depth and richness of Jan Karon’s writing.
Bathed in Prayer is available in hardcover and Kindle, and an audio version read by beloved Mitford narrator John McDonough is available on CD and through Audible. Publication date is October 30.
Mary Jo Tate is the author of Critical Companion to F. Scott Fitzgerald and Flourish: Balance for Homeschool Moms and the founder of the Mitford Book Club.
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