Praying the Parables of Jesus: A 40-Day Devotional Journey in Word and Image

by Stephen A. Macchia; Susan Skinner

Publisher:

NavPress

, 2025

Overview

Praying the Parables of Jesus offers an immersive encounter with Scripture, guiding readers to connect more deeply with the teachings of Jesus through prayerful reflection on His parables. In a world that constantly pulls our attention in countless directions, these 40 devotions invite us to pause, focus, and rediscover the quiet assurance of living out our faith with conviction.

Drawing inspiration from Eugene Peterson’s perspective on parables as tools that “force attention, participation, and involvement,” authors Macchia and Skinner guide us into each parable, training our eyes to see, our ears to hear, and our feet to follow Jesus’ path. This book helps us recalibrate our spirits toward faithfulness and fruitfulness, aligning our lives with the Kingdom of God in the here and now of our daily lives.

Using the text of The Message Bible, Praying the Parables of Jesus provides holistic, multisensory prompts that encourage readers to not only hear and respond to the Word but also to live into it. Features included:

• Key contextual insights into 40 of Jesus’ parables,
• A guided prayerful reading of each parable, using the ancient practice of Lectio Divina,
• A companion reflection on original art inspired by the parable, based on the ancient practice of Visio Divina.

This transformative experience helps turn the prism of daily life in a redemptive direction, offering gentle guidance from Jesus the storyteller to cultivate a life rooted in truth, prayer, and grace.

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Praise for Praying the Parables of Jesus

Praying the Parables of Jesus isn’t just a book you read. It’s a guide to a deeper understanding and experience of the with-God life. Step through it slowly. Savor it. And let God do his work as you live in his unshakable Kingdom.

In Praying the Parables of Jesus, Macchia and Skinner prayerfully, methodically, and artistically share Jesus’ parables with twenty-first-century disciples. They encourage readers to embrace a more intentional life of slowing down, thus experiencing greater comprehension of Jesus’ parables and more in-depth intimacy with Yahweh. Lectio divina and visio divina are integrative devotional practices. What a blessed contribution to the faith-forming community.

The parables of Jesus have a way of drawing us into the reality of the Kingdom he came to announce. What a gift this book is to help us pray these stories and embrace the “unhurried intimacies” to which Jesus invites us.

Praying the Parables of Jesus demands that we listen, with fresh attentiveness and seriousness and playfulness, to Jesus’ stories and that we open ourselves wide not just to what he’s saying but also to what he’s doing. With simple, penetrating commentary and arresting, soul-searching illustrations, Macchia and Skinner have dreamed up and pulled off a conspiracy of transformation. If you want to keep Jesus at a safe distance, this is not the book for you. But if you’re ready to have Jesus turn your world upside down, start here.

The paradox of this beautiful collection of words and images is that Macchia and Skinner guide the reader deftly into restorative relationship with Jesus not by exhausting exegesis but by winsome invitation. It is a rare experience to have yourself shepherded in clear, sensible steps not to right answers but to our Savior. This book is a gift to all who are hurried and harried by the world and who long to have gentle and kind guidance into the disruptive, delightful rest that only deep encounter with Christ brings.

This is a delightful, intriguing, and creative invitation to engage with the parables. It’s fresh and deep—as deep as you’d like to go.

This is more than a devotional book—it’s an immersive encounter with Jesus and his teachings. We are invited to linger in each parable, not just as readers but as participants through holy reading and holy seeing. The stunning artwork helps us see truth beyond words. This is a treasure to return to again and again.

What an excellent idea! A careful devotional guide for a journey through the parables of Jesus. I can hardly believe that this classic method for stepping into the most important stories Jesus told has so rarely been the subject of a book. I highly recommend this devotional reading that is so well conceived and delivered.

If you long for fresh insights from Scripture, “unhurried intimac[y]” with Jesus, and encouragement to apply the Spirit’s promptings to your daily life, then Praying the Parables of Jesus is for you. Be ready for surprise blessings! You’ll walk with Jesus through a field and stumble on treasure. You’ll knock on the door of his heart, receive fresh bread from his hands, cry with gratitude at his feet, and feast at his banquet. You’ll bow your head, look into a reflection pool, and see heaven opened to you. You’ll want to share this experience with your friends.

We all know we should spend time in the wisdom of the parables; what we don’t always know is how to engage with these monumental teachings. Paired with the earthy approach of The Message, this thoughtful, invitational guide leads us into imaginative spaces to linger, discovering new treasures in familiar places. What a wonderful gift!

What makes this book truly rare is its invitation: not merely to learn but also to listen. To respond. To encounter. Within these pages is a simple yet sacred rhythm that can move you from knowing about God to communing with him. These ancient stories, both timely and timeless, are meant not just to be understood but to be lived. Be warned: This is not a passive read. If you let it, this book will draw you into a deeper, more personal engagement with God. Open wide the doors of your soul—you’re being invited in.

Product Details

• Title: Praying the Parables of Jesus: A 40-Day Devotional Journey in Word and Image
• Authors: Stephen A. Macchia, Susan Skinner
• Publisher: NavPress
• Print Publication Date: 2025
• Logos Release Date: 2025
• Pages: 288
• Language: English
• Resources: 1
• Format: Digital › Ebook
• ISBNs: 9798898020408, 9798898020385
• Resource ID: LLS:9798898020408
• Resource Type: Monograph
• Metadata Last Updated: 2025-04-22T23:28:07Z