Book Review: "Prayers That Bring Miracles" by Stephen M. Bird

By Nichole Giles


The Blurb:

In the summer of 1983, a young Marine knocked on the door of Chaplain Bird. His face was ashen and his eyes wide with fear. He had just come up positive for the second time on a drug test and now faced certain demotion to the lowest rank, two months in the brig, and a dishonorable discharge.

The Marine explained that he was innocent and that there must have been some mistake. He went on to say that he had recently married a woman with five children. The family was living in military housing and his wife was currently receiving treatment at the base hospital for bone cancer. If he were kicked out of the Corps, his family would have no home or income.

As he listened to the young man’s story, Chaplain Bird began to pray. After the Marine finished, the chaplain heard Heavenly Father say, “I’m the only one who can help him now.”

This began a spiritual adventure for both the Marine and Chaplain Bird. As they talked, prayed, and read form the scriptures Brother Bird felt impressed to teach this young man how to pray. A few days later the Marine returned to Brother Bird’s office saying, “Chaplain, you’ll never believe what happened.”

The result of their prayer together was so remarkable that Brother Bird began to share the story with other Marines. Virtually all those who learned and used the same principles of prayer as this young Marine came back to report their own personal miracles.

My take:

When I first picked up this book, I looked at the cover and thought, oh no, not another book on how to pray. But I opened it anyway, and was surprised to find myself reading the entire first chapter, which then led to the second chapter. By starting out with the lead-in story, the author drew me in, and I became interested in what the author was trying to convey. I then continued on to read through his scripture references, and the steps he claims will help us bring about our own miracles.

After walking the reader through nine chapters in which certain steps are outlined and broken down, Brother Bird concludes by reminding us that our own hearts are changed by prayer, and that is the biggest miracle of all.

This book was a surprisingly quick and easy read, with lots of great information and some insight into the reasons we all pray, and how to listen for answers. This is definitely a religious book, meant for readers of the LDS faith, but the references sited are all nonsecular, which makes it a great book for an audience of any Christian religion.

To buy your copy of “Prayers that Bring Miracles” click here.