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Her chattiness and plugs for her workbook and video grow tiresome, but this does not negate the potential healing power of the book.

"The opportunities we have to lift each other up in prayer and compassion," she writes, "will be the catalyst to healing and change from the cycle of loss to the circle of life."

BEYOND JABEZ: Expanding Your Borders
Bruce Wilkinson with Brian Smith
Multnomah,
208 pp., $16.99

Fans of The Prayer of Jabez (9.3 million copies sold) are the audience for this fifth-anniversary follow-up.

Bruce Wilkinson offers many personal examples of the effectiveness of the Jabez prayer, and numerous anecdotes from those changed by it. He also shares some of the misconceptions that he feels surrounded the first book and encourages readers to "rekindle the habit" of praying the once obscure Jabez prayer.

Wilkinson's account of how his influence has spread presents a built-in incongruity, given his stress on humility. He nevertheless details the successes of his ministry work, including meetings with African presidents, forming a film production company, and teaching the poor in Swaziland how to feed themselves.

Readers may find it difficult to relate to anecdotes of how giving and receiving Mont Blanc pens is evidence of God at work. They must also be prepared for excerpts from Wilkinson's other Jabez spinoff books and mentions of his merchandise.

Cindy Crosby is the author of By Willoway Brook: Exploring the Landscape of Prayer (Paraclete, 2003).

Copyright © 2005 Christianity Today. Click for reprint information.

Gilead: A Novel is available from Christianbook.com and other book retailers.

Our sister publication Books & Culture has a longer review of the novel.

More information, including an excerpt, is available from the publisher.

The Scandal of the Evangelical Conscience is available from Christianbook.com and other book retailers.

Our sister publication Books & Culture has an excerpt from the book.

More information is available from the publisher.

You're Not Alone: Healing Through God's Grace After Abortion is available from Christianbook.com and other book retailers.

More information is available from the publisher.

More about Jennifer O'Neil, including photos, her speaking schedule, and ministries is available from her website.

Beyond Jabez: Expanding Your Borders is available from Christianbook.com and other book retailers.

More information, including a chapter exceprt, is available from the publisher.

Christianity Today's cover story on Bruce Wilkinson focused on his work in Africa.

More about Bruce Wilkinson is available from his Breakthrough Series website.

Our Books & Culture Corner weekly reviews books. More reviews and interviews are available from our Book page, as well as our 2004 Book Awards page.

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March 2005, Vol. 49, No. 3