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Prayer (Puritan Paperbacks) (Puritan Paperbacks)

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"Prayer is a sincere, sensible, affectionate pouring out of the soul to God, through Christ, in the power of the Holy Spirit, for such things as He has promised, for the good of the church with submission in faith to the will of God."

This is how Bunyan defines prayer in this amazing little book. Written while imprisoned in Bedford gaol for nonconformity, these two treatises show Christians the beauty, power, and awe of true prayer. In the first, Bunyan describes prayer as being "in the Spirit", and "with understanding" (1 Cor. 14:15). In the second, the theme is the Christian's privilege of approaching "the Throne of Grace" (Heb. 4:16).

Beware! says Bunyan. "You are not a Christian if you are not a praying person. The promise is that every one that is righteous shall pray (Ps. 32:6). You then are a wicked wretch if you do not." Surely this is a serious call to prayer!

But he also gives an encouragement: "If [God] had said, I will commune with thee from my throne of judgment, then indeed you might have trembled and fled from the face of the great and glorious Majesty. But when he says he will hear and commune with souls upon the throne of grace, or from the mercy-seat, this should encourage you, and cause you to hope, nay, to 'come boldly unto the throne of grace, that you may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need.'" Surely this is a wonderful word for Christian and non-Christian alike - God is on his Throne of Grace, and He can be approached through prayer!

Read this book, and learn of the true biblical understanding of prayer from one of the greatest writers in all history!

The Banner of Truth Trust's Prayer collects two of John Bunyan's works in one volume. Praying in the Spirit (1662) provides instruction and encouragement for Christians to pray personally and spontaneously to God, without the use of written forms of supplication. The Throne of Grace, published posthumously in 1692, is actually not so much about prayer as Christ's office as high priest, which enables Christians to confidently bring their prayers to him.

Praying in the Spirit provides much practical teaching on prayer that will prove beneficial to many Christians. The only drawback lies in Bunyan's total rejection of liturgical forms of prayer, which he sees as antithetical to heart prayers inspired by the Holy Spirit. Given the year this work was published, it's hard not to conclude that it's partially a polemic against the Church of England's then-new 1662 Book of Common Prayer. Still, even Christians who disagree with Bunyan on this matter (and I am one of them) can only wince as he attacks those who persecuted him and put him in prison for opposing such prayers. (Praying in the Spirit was written in the same prison where Bunyan later received the dream that inspired his best-known work, The Pilgrim's Progress.)

The Throne of Grace, in contrast, contains very little practical instruction on prayer. Rather, it is a far-reaching, lofty meditation on Christ's role as high priest and how his work benefits the Christian. If you tend to contrast the Puritans with the medieval Christian mystics, as I have been prone to do, this work may shake your view a little. As Bunyan meditates on the throne of grace and all that surrounds it in Heaven, and argues that Christ is both several of the objects seen there and separate from those objects, it's hard not to apply the word "mystical" to Bunyan's musings. ("Mystical," by the way, is not a dirty word per se. While some Christians consider mysticism to be unbiblical, many Christian mystics in church history held a very high view of Scripture.) The author himself, judging by his introduction to the work, evidently believed that the Holy Spirit inspired this work.

While there is much to commend in both works, the reader should be aware that neither one of them is an easy read (although Praying in the Spirit is much less difficult than The Throne of Grace). Bunyan writes long sentences and packs much content in each one. There are also occasional instances of obsolete words or obsolete meanings of words, but the publisher/editor helpfully provides definitions in footnotes. Prayer is a valuable and worthy read, but potential readers are advised to get acclimated to Puritans and their writings before tackling this one. (I myself found this a very difficult read over six years ago, but did not have the same problem in my just-completed second run-through.)

In the two discourses combined in this book, Bunyan labors, sucessfully, to show the Christian that honest prayers do not come from a book and they are not regurgitations of some memorized text. Prayer is an outpouring of one's heart to God. Bunyan suffered persecution and imprisonment for this cause. His passion for the subject of prayer is obvious in this book. It's a passion I think all Christians could use a little more of.

Prayer is divided into two parts: an exposition of what true prayer is and how praying is an appeal to Jesus on his throne of grace. To be frank, this is not Bunyan at his best. He's written better stuff (see Pilgrim's Progress). The material is pretty dry and half the time, he's battling high church Anglicanism. The few diamonds here are his descriptions of prayer being from the heart, not an formulistic external exercise.
The backdrop of where the book was written (Bunyan was imprisioned for his Puritan beliefs after Cromwell died and England reverted back to monarchy) is very interesting and I suggest all to familiarize themselves with that interesting period.

This book is actually composed of two separate books. The first, Praying in the Spirit, was written in 1662 from a prison cell. As you could imagine, it is intensely practical. It is not known when the second book, The Throne of Grace, was written, nor from where. Its manuscript was discovered after Bunyan's death. It is more mystical (by Puritan standards) and is less practical.

To say that Bunyan pastored and served in a difficult time is to be guilty of an understatement. In the late 1600's the Church of England began strictly regulating what their pastors were allowed to teach. Bunyan found himself alone and isolated; many like-minded pastors had been expelled or had fled to either the Netherlands or the United States on their own accord. Bunyan, who did not have a degree and thus was not allowed to preach, was imprisoned. While his congregation was deprived of a talented pastor, his family was deprived of their provider. Bunyon's time in prison left his wife to raise their daughter who was born blind. The constable reminded Bunyan continually that a simple promise not to preach would spring the jail door open. While the temptation to renounce his call must have been staggering, he remained in jail and chose to write.

In addition to The Pilgrim's Progress and The Holy War, his time in jail produced Praying in the Spirit. It is regarded as one of the definitive Puritan works on prayer. He carefully walks believers through the process of prayer. He warns of hindrances, marks out obstacles, and lovingly encourages his readers to have a deep and intense prayer life. My what a contrast to our own day! His advice does not consist of "take a 10 minute walk with Jesus" or even "Pray, `Father expand my boundaries'." He instead counsels, "Take heed that your heart go to God as well as your mouth. Let not your mouth go any further than you strive to draw your heart along with it" (p. 53). The tone of the book is pastoral. It gives the impression that Bunyan is writing to his flock because he cannot preach to them. It is shocking that while he is in prison he is not focused on his own woes, but rather upon the prayer needs of his congregation.

Praying in the Spirit is as biblical as it is practical. It surely must be one of the best expositions ever on 1 Corinthians 14:15. For Bunyan, "praying in the spirit" is not a sort of quasi-spiritual mystical experience. It is pleading passionitly before God. It is coming before the throne of Grace with boldness. Primarily it is praying within the will of God. He describes it as having his soul "cleaving to the dust" and asking for God to rescue it (p. 20).

The second part of this work on prayer is The Throne of Grace, an exposition of Hebrews 4:16. This work explains how to pray boldly, and it gives a very powerful description of the splendor of God. While it may not have been his chief intent, the main result of the pages spent describing the throne room of God is a fuller understanding of the earnestness with which we should pray. After passionately painting a picture of the throne of God, Bunyan describes Christ at the throne, constantly making intercession for us. The majesty of God is made plain, and the importance of prayer is accentuated.

Biblically, this section seems to go beyond what is written. Bunyan makes several assertions that would today be questioned. He says that God has more than one throne (throne of grace, throne of judgment, etc.), and he assigns spiritual elements to much that is unnecessary. For Bunyon, the fat of the levitical offering is a symbol for Christ's prayer, and the rainbow relates to Solomon's temple. A careful Bible student might be alarmed about some of his statements, but one also must remember that this work was possibly not meant for publication. Instead it may have been Bunyan's own study in preparation for preaching, if that opportunity would ever fall to him again.

Bunyan's writings call the reader back to a different age- an age where prayer was passionate and bold. Who better to write to a congregation on the importance of prayer than a pastor confined to prison? Prayer reflects the cell and the age from which it was written, and it is a reflection that our generation is dire need of seeing.

How anyone could call this book dry is beyond me. It is one of the best, if not the best book I have read on prayer. Once you have read the Puritans on any subject, you will never be satisfied with the cutesy fluff that satisfies modern Christian appetites. Do yourself a favor, buy and read this book, carefully, prayerfully; you will find it a refreshing fountain of spiritual blessing.