Prayer

Weight 0.42 lbs
Dimensions 7.13 × 4.75 × 0.5 in
ISBN 9781800402706
Binding

Paperback, eBook (ePub & Kindle), Paperback & eBook (ePub & Kindle)

topic

Prayer, Spiritual Growth

Original Pub Date

1662, 1692

Banner Pub Date

Oct 4, 2022

page-count

176

scripture

1 Corinthians

format

Book

series

Puritan Paperbacks

Endorsements

‘The nutriment of Bunyan’s writings has been a staple food of believers in each succeeding generation, while their sweetness has been an unfailing delight.’ — FRANK MOTT HARRISON

Book Description

Even in today’s secular world, scholars continue to be fascinated by the influences behind John Bunyan’s famous allegories, The Pilgrims Progress and The Holy War. In the pages of this book we discover part of the real secret of Bunyan’s greatness. He was a man whose life was profoundly God-centred, and consequently he was a man of prayer.

Praying in the Spirit, written in 1662 in Bedford gaol (where Bunyan was later to have his immortal dream) expounds what he calls ‘the very heart of prayer.’ In clear and simple terms he defines what it means to pray with the spirit and with the understanding, deals with difficulties in prayer, and shows how ‘the Christian can open his heart to God as a friend.’

In The Throne of Grace, Bunyan explains how to approach God’s throne in prayer, and gives a rich, practical exposition of the blessings God’s people receive from the high priestly ministry of Jesus Christ.

Table of Contents Expand ↓

Publisher’s Foreword ix
PART I: Praying in the Spirit
1 What True Prayer Is 5
2 What It Is to Pray with the Spirit 19
3 What It Is to Pray with the Spirit and with the Understanding 35
4 Queries and Objections Answered 43
5 Use and Application 49
6 The Conclusion 63
PART II: The Throne of Grace
1 God Has More Thrones than One 71
2 The Godly Can Distinguish One Throne from Another 75
i. There is a throne of grace 75
- Import of the term ‘grace’ 76
- What is to be inferred from the term, ‘throne of grace’? 79
- What this throne of grace is 81
- Where the throne of grace is erected 83
- Why the law and the mercy-seat are so near together 86
ii. How the godly distinguish the throne of grace from other thrones 88
iii. The Persons Intended by the Exhortation ‘Let Us Come’ 115
- The orderly coming to the throne of grace 117
iv. How We Are to Approach the Throne of Grace 123
- What it is to come to the throne of grace without boldness 128
- None but the godly know the throne of grace 131
v. Motives for Coming Boldly to the Throne of Grace 139
- Because we have such an high priest there 139
- The legal qualifications of Jesus Christ for the office of high priest 140
- Christ the sacrifice as well as the high priest, and how he offered it 151
- Christ a willing and an effectual sacrifice 153
- Christ the altar 154
- How Christ executes the office of high priest 157
- How these mysteries are to be learned 163
- The natural qualifications of Jesus Christ to be our high priest 167
- Because we are sure to speed 179
- Saints are like to meet with needy times 180
- Continual supplies of grace are essential to our welfare 186
What this should teach us 191
vi. Conclusion 197
- Six lessons to be learned from this text 197

Testimonials

Submit your testimonial

  1. Robert Norman

    The treatise on prayer is excellent and worthy of five stars, however, this volume is dragged down by the included treatise on the throne of God in which Bunyan (unfortunately) makes many exegetical errors. His doctrine is still correct, despite this mishap, however I would only give the Throne of God two stars.

  2. Linda Gabriel

    This one little volume actually contains two works by John Bunyan on prayer. The first exposition on the subject, originally entitled “A Discourse Touching Prayer,” looks at what true prayer is, who should pray, what kinds of prayers are acceptable to God, and what we should pray for. Bunyan begins with making this statement about prayer:

    “Prayer is an ordinance of God to be used both in public and private; yea, such an ordinance as brings those that have the spirit of supplication into great familiarity with God.”

    Followed by this definition of prayer:

    “Prayer is a sincere, sensible, affectionate pouring out of the heart or soul to God, through Christ, in the strength and assistance of the Holy Spirit, for such things as God has promised, or according to his Word, for the good of the church, with submission in faith to the will of God.”

    He then proceeds to expound on the points mentioned in this definition, and explains what it means to pray with or in the Spirit. Following this, he addresses what may serve as obstructions to prayer. Bunyan writes,

    “As prayer is the duty of every one of the children of God, and carried on by the spirit of Christ in the soul, so everyone that takes it upon him to pray to the Lord, had need to be very wary and go about that work especially with a dread of God, as well as with hopes of the mercy of God through Jesus Christ.”

    Prayer is indeed serious business, and it is a hard business. We cannot do it in our own strength; it requires the work of the Holy Spirit within us.

    Bunyan’s second discourse, originally published by the title “The Saints’ Privilege and Profit,” focuses on the idea of coming to the throne of grace – what does this mean and how are we to approach it? Bunyan demonstrates how it is that we are able to pray because Jesus Christ was himself the sacrifice, the altar, and the high priest who has provided the way for us to come. He also talks about the proper attitude and motives for prayer.

    This book provides many blessed reminders of the wonderful privilege prayer is and how detrimental and sinful it is when we neglect it.

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