Review: Way to Pray

Do you struggle with what to say in your prayers? Do you find that you use the same phrases over and over again? Would you like to pray more in line with scripture? Then this wonderful book is for you.

Originally published in 1710, it was written by Matthew Henry, who is best known for his excellent 6 volume commentary on the whole Bible. He interrupted his work on his magnus opus to write this book on prayer. Believing that the best way to pray is to use the language of scripture, he compiled hundreds of sample prayers on a wide variety of subjects from praise to confession to petitions with each prayer an amalgam of scriptures.

This new edition has been produced by the American preacher O. Palmer Robertson who has carefully and painstakingly updated the prayers into current English. The result is that the language feels up to date yet the content is thoroughly scriptural and reverent. Let me give you a taster: From the praise section: “Who is a God like you, majestic in holiness, awesome in glory, working wonders? Who on the earth can compare to you, O Lord?” From the confession section: “What have we profited if we should gain the whole world by our sinful ways and lose our own souls? We have sinned and perverted what is right and it has profited us absolutely nothing.” 

This is a book to read on your knees rather than in your armchair and in small doses rather than big chunks. If used wisely, it will enrich your prayer life. Highly recommended.

This review was first posted by Alan Hill on GoodBookReviews.org. The site has been closed as of March 2019