Prayer (Puritan Paperbacks)

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.

Born in 1628 in Elstow, England, John Bunyan did not display a serious love for Christ until after he got married. Then, after a group of women talked to him about Christ, Bunyan was converted by the Lord and was baptized. By 1655, he was preaching. In 1660 Bunyan was arrested for preaching without official permission from King Charles II; he was to spend the next 12½ years in Bedford County Gaol. Although a time of much suffering, Bunyan's years in prison were productive, for he wrote extensively. He was eventually released in 1672, and took up his pastorate in Bedford. After some fruitful years of ministry, in March of 1675 Bunyan was again imprisoned for preaching publicly without a license. It was during this imprisonment that he began the first part of his most famous book, The Pilgrim's Progress, which was to sell more than 100,000 copies in its first ten years in print.