A Warrior Prince for God

When I saw this new release (1/2010) from Harvest House Publishers, A Warrior Prince for God, I had to track it down. Billed as dealing with fear and talking about courage, I knew it was for us. We've been talking a lot about being courageous around here, and not giving into fear when we come up against things that might give us the willies. Bookworm1 isn't scared of very much and then we're very aware of what he is exposed to and when. We want to protect his heart and his mind, introducing him to things at a pace which is suitable to his maturity level. We want to be certain that we're taking age-appropriate steps to bring him to an understanding of what the world around him is like and what issues one must face in life. We answer his questions when he asks them and we let him be all of glorious THREE for the time being!

One of the things we've been doing to this end is memorizing and repeating a lot scripture, trying to meet the issue of fear head on.

For example:

"Do not be afraid or dismayed - for the Lord Your God will be with you wherever you go." (Joshua 1:9)

God is with us:

* When we see shadows
* When we hear funny noises
* When the dog next door barks and runs towards us in gleeful ignorance
* When we meet people we don't know very well.

In A Warrior Prince for God we meet young Luke, who is a part of the Warriors baseball team. But, as his coach says, they aren't just a team called the Warriors - they really ARE mighty warriors for God.

This book is a beginning chapter book and probably best suited for ages four to eight. That said, my three and a half year old listens to this book in rapt attention. Luke invites his friends and a few other fellow teammates over for a camp out and that night he dreams a dream about a battle he has against a snake named Drakon. Drakon hisses the most ingenious lies to young Luke as he tries to stand up against this foul creature. While fighting the battle against Drakon, Luke is also challenged to stand up for his friends who do not show signs of sharing the same convictions as himself. Yet Luke protects and defends his companions from the evil Drakon. (I should also mention that Luke has a sidekick of a dog named Burpie which I think probably could have had a better name but oh well. I'm willing to overlook that.)

A Warrior Prince for God is probably a little Pilgrim's Progress, rolled into a little bit of Narnia, throwing in a mention of David and Goliath with plenty of analogies to be made between Drakon on the serpant in the Garden of Eden. Bookworm1 loves it and I'm pleased with it also. He has requested multiple re-reads of the "battle against the snake."

The message of the book is clear and strong: we can be courageous and stand strong in the Lord and need not give in to fear.

The crux of the issue (for me) is this: we can walk in God-confidence even from a young age, not allowing our imaginations to trick us and not to run away from things that might look scary on the surface, but upon further inspection turn out to be mere shadows on the wall.

God does not give us a Spirit of fear, after all, but of power, love and a strong mind (2 Tim. 1:7). To that end, I have nothing but nice things to say about A Warrior Prince for God as it upholds this message of truth. It is an action/adventure story sure to please young men-in-training. I appreciate it very much.

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If you like the concept, you'll be happy to note that there is a A Warrior Prince for God Activity Book set to be released in May, 2010.

Thanks, Harvest House, for giving us the opportunity to check out this great resource!