The Still Hour

by Austin Phelps

Austin Phelps (1820-1890) was a congregational minister, a professor of sacred rhetoric and homiletics, and later a president of Andover Theological Seminary. He wrote several books which were widely read, but none as much as "The Still Hour." Some of the subjects covered are quite unique, such as "Absence of God, in Prayer", "Unhallowed Prayer", "Distrust in Prayer", "Indolence in Prayer" and "Idolatry in Prayer." This is a book that will both convict and encourage. It is perfect alike for the new believer and the aged saint who has walked with Christ for decades. Don Whitney wrote: "Remember that the great purpose for engaging in these Disciplines is Godliness, that we may be like Jesus, that we may be more holy. In The Still Hour, Austin Phelps wrote, 'It has been said that no great work in literature or in science was ever wrought by a man who did not love solitude. We may lay it down as an elemental principle of religion, that no large growth in holiness was ever gained by one who did not take time to be often long alone with God.'"

Genres: Christian, Prayer, Christian Living, Faith, Nonfiction, Spirituality, Christianity

144 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1859

About the author

Austin Phelps (1820 - 1890), American Congregational minister and educationalist.

Reviews

[Caleb Mitchell · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is wonderfully direct book on the subject of prayer. It offers a well considered rebuke against complacency in pursuit of devotion and intercourse with God; and effectively diagnoses a disaffected Christian’s shortfalls when it comes to intimacy with God. This isn’t a book that should be read with any great speed, but one that ought to be carefully and dutifully pondered so that in may be well understood.

[Steve · Rating 5 out of 5]

Austin Phelps : “The Still Hour” is a great little book (90 pages) on prayer, by the 19th century Congregationalist pastor .
Quotes:

“Christians often have little faith in prayer as a “power in real life”. They do not embrace cordially, in feeling as well as in theory, the truth which underlies the entire spiritual conception and illustration of prayer, that it is literally, actually, positively, effectually, a means of power.”
P 27

“The feeling which will become spontaneous with a Christian, under the influence of such a trust, is this: “I come to my devotions this morning, on the errand of real life. This is no romance and no farce. I do not come here to go through a form of words. I have no hopeless desires to express. I have an object to gain. I have an end to accomplish. This is a business in which I am about to engage.“
Page 31

“We have not so trained our heart that a certain emotive current is always ebullient , welling up from the depths of the soul like the springs of a deep sea. We think more than we believe. We believe more than we have faith . Our faith is to calm, to cool, too sluggish. Our theory of the Christian life is that of a clear, direct, inflexible head, not of a great heart in which deep calleth unto deep.”
Page 42

[Dane Jöhannsson · Rating 5 out of 5]

This short volume on prayer is quaint, pressing, warm, and cuts right to the heart of what prayer is, it's duties, delights, as well as what contributes to our deficiencies therein, with their remedy. It comes highly recommended by Dr. Joel Beeke and Charles Spurgeon. I add my commendation to theirs.

[Shannon · Rating 5 out of 5]

I looked this book up after reading a short excerpt of it in another book. It was well worth finding. Austin Phelps begins with a concise survey of great Christians' prayer lives. That first chapter quickly leads one to recognize something important: that all "great" Christians prayed and even loved prayer. The author then goes on to diagnose numerous problems Christians face in prayer and explains how to address them. One thing I loved about this book was the emphasis on love and delight. Many of the modern books I've read on prayer emphasize duty. And while Austin Phelps did not deny it, he also didn't focus on it. Delight and privilege are the ground of his call to join the ranks of praying Christians.

[Ray Ellis · Rating 5 out of 5]

Reading it again. To study and meditate on these truths... to be led back to the author of all truth.

[Emily Magnus · Rating 3 out of 5]

Anybody else find it hard to give ratings up in here ?! I think this one would be a 3.76 in all reality. This small book on prayer had me contemplating my own still hours or lack thereof. It was one of those that on every other page I had to stop to write down a quote.

Here is one I’ve thought a lot about: “I am inclined to imagine that there are no little things with God. His hand is as manifest in the feathers of a butterfly wing, in the eye of an insect, in the folding and packing of a blossom, in the curious aqueducts by which a leaf is nourished, as in the creation of a world, and in the laws in which planets move. I understand literally the injunction, ‘In everything make your requests known unto God;’ and I cannot but notice how amply these prayers have been met.”

What a relief and a reminder to know there are no little things.

I learned a lot about the romance, the temperament, the distrust, and the continuance in prayer.

“The truth is, that we never feel Christ to be a reality, until we feel Him to be a necessity.”

GOOD stuff

[Anthony D’Apolito III · Rating 4 out of 5]

“A plain man once said: ' Before my conversion, when I prayed in the presence of others, I prayed to them; when I prayed in secret, I prayed to myself; but now I pray to God.’”

“Our faith is too calm, too cool, too sluggish. Our theory of the Christian life is that of a clear, erect, inflexible head, not of a great heart in which deep calleth unto deep.”

“The truth is, that we never feel Christ to be a reality, until we feel Him to be a necessity."

“Prayer is the peace of our spirit, the stillness of our thoughts, the evenness of our recollection, the seat of our meditation, the rest of our cares, and the calm of our tempest. Prayer is the issue of a quiet mind, of untroubled thoughts; it is the daughter of charity and the sister of meekness. He that prays to God with a troubled and discomposed spirit, is like him that retires into a battle to meditate, and sets up his closet in the out-quarters of an army, and chooses a frontier garrison to be wise in.”

[Becki · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved most of this book.

Some of my favorite quotes:

"Many times, all I can do is to complain that I want Him, and wish to recover Him."

"'Never any more wonder,' says an old writer, 'that men pray so seldom. For there are very few that feel the relish, and are enticed with the deliciousness, and refreshed with the comforts, and acquainted with the secrets, of a holy prayer.'"

The Still Hour is worth reading if you complain that you want God and wish to recover Him.

[Rod Innis · Rating 3 out of 5]

I found some of the chapters to be quite helpful and I found some to be insipid. Overall the lack of Scripture bothered me. In fairness, the author referred to a number of verses without quoting them or citing them. It also had a negative or critical tone. If we don't pray as we ought, and most of us agree that we don't, we need to be reminded and rebuked but I found that there was more rebuke than encouragement.

[steven foster smith · Rating 5 out of 5]

Psalms 46:10 Be still, and know that I am God: I will be exalted among the heathen.......

Wow. What a powerful book on communion with God. Thankful Mr spurgeon recommended this work. I pray right now the truth found in this work would be evident in my life and many others who seek it's value in Jesus name. Amen.

[Reid · Rating 3 out of 5]

Some good ideas about prayer in this book, a little sluggish to get through, primarily from the 19th century language.

[Danielsly · Rating 4 out of 5]

Dense for a little book with lots of truth to chew on. Addresses the epidemic of ignorance and apathy Christians have toward praying and revives the practice with gospel-centred truths.

[Martyn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not the most enticing of covers (in the Banner of Truth edition of 1974). Nor does the title of the book really seem all that suitable for something that is about prayer-life generally. The title gives the impression that it could be a selection of devotional thoughts for the daily 'quiet time', rather than a discussion of the difficulties we have when trying to pray.

It's a short little book, quick to read, though sometimes the sentences are constructed a little awkwardly which slows things down a little as you try to puzzle out what is being said.

The book is good at putting into words things that we have experienced but don't know how to express. Or it helps to diagnose the underlying cause behind all the symptoms we are experiencing. A useful little book, and comforting in its way because it shows us that others have experienced exactly the same things as we have. It doesn't seem to offer remedies for the problems though. Maybe this is because recognising the root problem is the main battle, and once that is recognised and acknowledged, the solution should be fairly obvious.

Overall it is a very useful and thought-provoking little book. Worth reading.