Prayer (Puritan Paperbacks) (Puritan Paperbacks) (Paperback)

~ John Bunyan (Author)

Product Details

• Paperback: 172 pages
• Publisher: Banner of Truth (December 1, 1965)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0851510906
• ISBN-13: 978-0851510903
• Product Dimensions: 7.1 x 4.9 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5.3 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #70,677 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars One of Bunyan's finest, most profitable works!, September 17, 2002

By	Brian Douglas (Brighton, England) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

"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!

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars On the dry side, May 22, 2002

By	nafrica (Oakland, CA) - See all my reviews

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.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Profitable but Challenging-to-Read Studies of Prayer and Christ as High Priest, May 13, 2008

By	Chip Webb (Fairfax Station, VA) - See all my reviews

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.)