Private or secret prayer is the life-blood of the Christian. The great men and women of God down through the ages have testified to the effectiveness of this in their lives. Some like Martin Luther, have said that they could not survive a busy day without spending 2-3 hours alone with God. Drawing on the experiences of people like Luther, Spurgeon, Muller, Whitefield and Wesley, the author presses the case for a greater commitment to prayer. His advice may not only transform your life, it could be a catalyst towards a change in the world around you.
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. "Every time I read this book, the Lord uses it to deepen my prayer life and encourage my faith. I strongly recommend it!" Wayne Grudem, Ph.D
About the Author
David McIntyre (1859 – 1938) was a Scottish preacher and Principal of the Bible Training Institute in Glasgow from 1913 to 1938.
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8 of 8 people found the following review helpful
By Erik Raymond
Format:Paperback
Most books on prayer are convicting. The authors don't have to work too hard to give us the Bible verses, make some helpful observations, and point us to simple application. On the other hand, I have found it somewhat rare to find books on prayer that also provide clear, practical instruction. Perhaps this is due to people being afraid of imposing standards or practices that are not mandated in the Scriptures. At any rate, I am very excited when I can find a book that does both: provide conviction and instruction.
The Hidden Life of Prayer by David McIntyre is one of those books. It is not a long book. It weighs in as a paperback at about 120 pages. However, whatever is lacked in volume it brings in substance. Think of it as a cup of espresso for the discipline of prayer.
McIntyre (1859-1938) was a minister in Scotland. His daily faithfulness precedes this volume. It is helpful to remember that this book was an outflow of a life that was bathed in prayer and the ministry of the word.
The outline is simple. The content, each chapter, is helpful and convicting.
The Life of Prayer: This deals with the priority of the Christian having their life orientated and characterized by prayer. Very convicting.
The Equipment: This gets practical. The essential equipment for a praying life: a quiet place, a quiet hour, and a quiet heart. Again, very convicting and helpful.
The Direction of the Mind: Who and what do we think about when we pray? Who are we talking to? And about what?
The Engagement: Worship. This is what we are doing in prayer.
The Engagement: Confession. As we come to God in prayer we are to be confessing our sin. This bids us back to Christ in the gospel.
The Engagement: Request. We make our requests known to God because of who he is and what he has promised.
The Hidden Riches of the Secret Place: What is the benefit of prayer to the soul? Such things as confidence, happiness, answered prayer and usefulness. In short, he is talking about the blessings of prayer.
The Open Recompense: The fact that God answers prayer must motivate believers to pray and watch earnestly for him. The author brings in many friends from church history to help make his case.
As I mentioned above the author brings in a lot of quotes from church history. He highlights particularly convicting quotes from other believers who were faithful at their post. This balance is really helpful; for, he himself is a quote machine. To continually sprinkle in sound bytes from giants in prayer is as convicting as it is helpful.
In terms of difficulty or writing style, it is not hard. Whether you are a new Christian or a professor at a Bible College, this book will help your prayer life.
This book kind of came out of nowhere for me. I saw it on Westminster's website earlier this year and picked it up. Now, I plan to keep it at arm's length. I also plan to put it in the rotation of books I recommend potential leaders read. It's an instant favorite for me. The only drawback is that it is not read in the Scottish accent. That would make it just about perfect.
The Hidden Life of Prayer by David McIntyre is one of those books. It is not a long book. It weighs in as a paperback at about 120 pages. However, whatever is lacked in volume it brings in substance. Think of it as a cup of espresso for the discipline of prayer.
McIntyre (1859-1938) was a minister in Scotland. His daily faithfulness precedes this volume. It is helpful to remember that this book was an outflow of a life that was bathed in prayer and the ministry of the word.
The outline is simple. The content, each chapter, is helpful and convicting.
The Life of Prayer: This deals with the priority of the Christian having their life orientated and characterized by prayer. Very convicting.
The Equipment: This gets practical. The essential equipment for a praying life: a quiet place, a quiet hour, and a quiet heart. Again, very convicting and helpful.
The Direction of the Mind: Who and what do we think about when we pray? Who are we talking to? And about what?
The Engagement: Worship. This is what we are doing in prayer.
The Engagement: Confession. As we come to God in prayer we are to be confessing our sin. This bids us back to Christ in the gospel.
The Engagement: Request. We make our requests known to God because of who he is and what he has promised.
The Hidden Riches of the Secret Place: What is the benefit of prayer to the soul? Such things as confidence, happiness, answered prayer and usefulness. In short, he is talking about the blessings of prayer.
The Open Recompense: The fact that God answers prayer must motivate believers to pray and watch earnestly for him. The author brings in many friends from church history to help make his case.
As I mentioned above the author brings in a lot of quotes from church history. He highlights particularly convicting quotes from other believers who were faithful at their post. This balance is really helpful; for, he himself is a quote machine. To continually sprinkle in sound bytes from giants in prayer is as convicting as it is helpful.
In terms of difficulty or writing style, it is not hard. Whether you are a new Christian or a professor at a Bible College, this book will help your prayer life.
This book kind of came out of nowhere for me. I saw it on Westminster's website earlier this year and picked it up. Now, I plan to keep it at arm's length. I also plan to put it in the rotation of books I recommend potential leaders read. It's an instant favorite for me. The only drawback is that it is not read in the Scottish accent. That would make it just about perfect.
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
The quote from John Piper on the cover is most fitting ... This book is definitely a jewel. It is not very long but don't think you will be able to get through it quickly. Every paragraph is jammed packed with excellent insights. The author, David McIntyre was born 1859 in Monikie, Angus (Scotland). The writing and language used is not 21rst century American english. That alone can cause you to have to slow down a little while reading through the book. I actually think the language of Mr. McIntyre is a strength. The language and insights presented in this book are powerful and worth reading over slowly. You will need to read through this book several times I am sure in order to extract all the gems contained inside.
McIntyre site many other of his contemporaries in this book. So this is not strictly all his own personal insights.
Bottom line: This book is on a whole different level than the modern day books about prayer that have been offered up for the last 50 (or so) years.
If you are looking for MEAT ... This is it!!!
McIntyre site many other of his contemporaries in this book. So this is not strictly all his own personal insights.
Bottom line: This book is on a whole different level than the modern day books about prayer that have been offered up for the last 50 (or so) years.
If you are looking for MEAT ... This is it!!!
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
By J. Walker
Format:Paperback
This is a book which can be read quickly, but its lessons should last a lifetime. Its much-loved, greatly-learned and highly-esteemed author, who moved in the orbit of the Bonars, provides a simple but profound invitation to engage with God in earnest, humble, contrite, intelligent, worshipful prayer, holding out to us the sweet rewards of such engagement. His language is Scriptural, his soul is ardent, and his call is urgent. Arming himself also with a wealth of encouragements and warnings from past worthies, he gives us here a clarion call to get on our knees and seek the face of God. I should hope that any Christian would benefit greatly from a reading of this book, for it encourages even as it convicts, it exhorts even as it rebukes, it draws us out even as it drives us down.
Most Recent Customer Reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars
Ten Stars Out of Five!
I want to learn everything I can about prayer. I could have listened to these two CDs once and gone on about my business but I would have missed more than 80% of what is offered. Read more
Published 1 month ago by sbd
5.0 out of 5 stars
Prayer
John Piper says "One of the great uses of Twitter and Facebook will be to prove at the Last Day that prayerlessness was not from a lack of time. Read more
Published 4 months ago by K. Meadows
5.0 out of 5 stars
Piper's quote sums it up:
Piper said that this book did for him at 54, what Bounds (Power Through Prayer) did for him at 34. I read Bounds at age 23 last year, and it kindled a fire in me for prayer. Read more
Published 4 months ago by robert pitts
5.0 out of 5 stars
Challenging Book of Prayer
This short book is the best book on prayer I have read. It quotes Christians from all periods of Church History. Read more
Published 8 months ago by Jeffrey A. Thompson
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