How to Pray: The Best of John Wesley on Prayer

by John Wesley

Rare book

Genres: Prayer, Christian, Religion, Nonfiction, Christian Living, Christianity, Theology

96 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2008

About the author

John Wesley is recognized as the founder of Methodism. An acclaimed preacher, Wesley travelled extensively on horseback and drew large crowds for his outdoor sermons. A contemporary of William Wilberforce, Wesley was a strong voice opposing slavery in England and the United States. His influence upon modern Christianity can be seen by the large number of Methodist organizations in the Wesleyan tradition all over the world.

Reviews

[Kiri Dawn · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was given to me as a gift, and I've waffled over how to rate it. On one hand, the timing could not have been more perfect. Having just read Eliot's "Adam Bede" (in which some of the main characters are devoted Wesleyans), this book was a fascinating follow-up. Eliot really did a marvelous job portraying the preaching style of Wesley. And I found Wesley to be surprisingly readable. However, I am just not a fan of the trend that takes pieces of a well-known figure's work and compiles it into a "new" book. I feel like the quotes are missing something when taken out of context. I would much rather read a full sermon than a half a page from one.

[Lizette Valles · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this book as part of my personal devotions-- it has enhanced my prayer life in a significant way.

[J. Ewbank · Rating 4 out of 5]

One has to be into prayer or John Wesley to really enjoy this book. It is a good book and it is John Wesley, but you would not know it unless you were told it was John Wesley. It does not have the totally distinctive flavor of Wesley to me, but I did enjoy it.

J. Robert Ewbank author "John Wesley, Natural Man, and the 'Isms'"

[John Jenkins · Rating 5 out of 5]

This 96-page book summarizes John Wesley’s insights on how, when and why to pray. It emphasizes the importance of prayer and how it relates to faith, grace and salvation.

In the 18th century, John Wesley sought to reform the Church of England from within. He was not able to accomplish this goal, but his efforts resulted in the formation of the Methodist Church. One of the important concepts of the United Methodist Church is the Wesley Quadrilateral. The four components of the quadrilateral are (1) Scripture, (2) tradition, (3) reason, and (4) experience. These four components are to be used by Christians to reach a mature and fulfilling understanding of how we should live our lives.

This book contains many of John Wesley’s thoughts on the importance of prayer, including “On every occasion of uneasiness, we should retire to prayer, that we may give place to the grace and light of God and then form our resolutions.” So, why do we Methodists not have a Wesley Pentagon instead of a Quadrilateral, with the fifth component being Prayer?

[Samuel Sadler · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a great daily devotional for anyone seeking a richer prayer life. Wesley offers the kind of prayerful self-reflections which contrast the dire state of the human condition with the goodness of God.

[Mary · Rating 5 out of 5]

“I have so much to do that I spend several hours in prayer before I am able to do it.”

[Mark Uncommon Valor · Rating 5 out of 5]

. . . " You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, with all your strength " ( Mark 12:30 ). Such a love as this occupies the whole heart, takes up all the affections, fills the entire capacity of the soul, and employs the utmost extent of all its faculties.

One who thus loves is continually rejoicing in God. His delight is in the Lord, his Lord and his all, to whom we give thanks in all things. All his desire is toward God and to the remembrance of His name. His heart is always crying out, " Whom have I in heaven but Thee. "

Indeed, what can he desire but God ? Not the world or the things of the world, for he is crucified to the world and the world is crucified to him. He is crucified to the desire of the flesh, the desire of the eye, and the pride of life. He is dead to pride of every kind : For " love is not puffed up. " One who is dwelling in love, dwells in God, and God in him ; and he is less than nothing in his own eyes. For the love of God is a mark of the altogether Christian.

John Wesley

[Cynthia Sanders · Rating 4 out of 5]

I think that Wesley adds so much as a theologian. I think that is one reason I became a Methodist early in life. And whom better to add insight on how to prayer. Of course the praise & worship mission Serenity church adds a special place in my heart as well. Praise be to God! Love in Christ, Cyndy ❤️☝️🙏😊

[James · Rating 3 out of 5]

John Wesley's Arminianism clearly shows in these short readings but there is still much of valuable advice for a Christian who is seeking help with his or her prayer life.

The book has an annoying habit of jumping from Bible translation to Bible translation even within the same paragraph. It should have kept to the AV/KJV as it would have been the one used by Wesley.

[Ricky · Rating 1 out of 5]

Very bad. Teaches a truth out of one side of his mouth, and damnable heresies from the other side. Christian perfectionism and Works-reliant salvation are false gospels, they completely void the glory of the true Gospel

"As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one" -Romans 3:10
"For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God" -Romans 3:23
"But God commendeth his love toward us in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us."
-Romans 5:8
"For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord."
-Romans 6:23
"That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.
For the scripture saith, Whosoever believeth on him shall not be ashamed. For there is no difference between the Jew and the Greek: for the same Lord over all is rich unto all that call upon him. For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved."
-Roman 10:9-13

"For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life."
-John 3:16

"The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance."
-2 Peter 3:9

"And brought them out, and said, Sirs, what must I do to be saved? And they said, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and they house."
-Acts 16:30-31

So what is the gospel? We have all done evil, we need a savior. Jesus paid our price for us, and all we must do is have true, genuine faith in His works, and we are saved. Anything added to that means we are not trusting in His work, but ours, and that is wrong; stay away from false gospels trying to rob the simple truth from you

"O foolish Galatians, who hath bewitched you, that ye should not obey the truth, before whose eyes Jesus Christ hath been evidently set forth, crucified among you? This only would I learn of you, Received ye the Spirit by the works of the law, or by the hearing of faith? Are ye so foolish? having begun in the Spirit, are ye now made perfect by the flesh? Have ye suffered so many things in vain? if it be yet in vain. He therefore that ministereth to you the Spirit, and worketh miracles among you, doeth he it by the works of the law, or by the hearing of faith?

Even as Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness."
-Galatians 3:1-6

[Nelda · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wesley's words are surprisingly easy to read and follow despite his living in the 1700's. A few times, the chosen selections seemed only tenuously about prayer. I might quibble too with the need to begin each selection with scriptures from various translations of the Bible. Why not stick with one, likely the KJV, which was used at that time?

Some selections and ideas that struck my fancy. 1. "Now perhaps you are one who still uses the same form you used when you were a child." Instead, Wesley asserts that one should pray according to one's "inward and outward states" so pray for peace when needing peace, call for help when in distress, thank and praise God , etc. when your mental state demands it. In other words, pray your needs not your duty (p. 18). 2. "Do not be diligent in one kind of prayer and negligent in others." "Perhaps we receive few answers to prayer because we do not intercede enough for others" (p. 22).
3. And the very best prayers are but vain repetitions if they are not the language of the heart" (p. 30).
4. About lack of focus: "Are not their hearts wandering to the ends of the earth?" (p. 44.) 5. "If evil ever can be overcome, it must be by good. We cannot beat the devil with his own weapons." (p. 63). 6. "Laying up treasures on earth is as flatly forbidden by our Lord as murder or adultery." "You will have no reward for what you lay up; you will for what you lay out [to the poor]" (p. 68). 7. "Perhaps no sin of omission more frequently occasions this than the neglect of prayer" (75). 8. "If he does not continually watch and pray, he feels not only the love of the world but also lust reviving and the assaults of inordinate affection. He feels the strongest urges towards loving the creature more than the Creator....he is prone to forget God. And for this, even the true believer in Christ needs to repent" (p. 79).

[Kailey (Luminous Libro) · Rating 3 out of 5]

This compilation brings together snippets of Wesley's writing and sermons on the subject of prayer. Each page has a devotional for the day, along with a Bible verse to reflect on.
Some of the pages are obviously taken from the middle of a sermon, and it can be a little difficult to grasp the context. But for the most part, each page has a complete thought regarding prayer or some prayerful aspect of Christian life.

I find that, although I agree with Wesley's main principles, I don't agree with his application a lot of the time.
For instance, there is a page where he talks about encouraging the people in your care to pray and attend church. He says a good employer should "restrain them... from taking the name of God in vain and doing needless work on the Lord's Day." So far so good. But then he says that if you have household employees who refuse to "yield, they must be dismissed." That's where we disagree. Firing employees because they don't adhere to your rigid spiritual standards is insane. That's not Christian compassion. But I suppose that strict attitude would have been common for that time in history. You practically belonged to your employer body and soul in those days.

I enjoyed some of the thoughts on prayer, and others either did not speak to me personally, or I outright disagreed with the application.

[Glen · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a small but impactful book that is designed for daily reflection. It contains excerpts from Wesley's many writings that center on the believer's prayer life. Each reflection starts with a verse and is one page, easily read and reread to allow the truths to penetrate your thinking.

Few individuals in Church history exhibited such an extraordinary commitment to the lifestyle of a praying disciple than did John Wesley. His writing style is simple and straightforward, just as he is depicted by historians. There is a refreshing lack of ego-centrism in his words as he expends all his energy on a persistent call for intimacy with Jesus - an intimacy that is lived out daily in extravagant abiding in the Lord's presence.

[Alex Kearney · Rating 3 out of 5]

I’ve been rotating a bit between two devotionals—this and another with Tozer’s writings.

Both seem to have the same problem. The editors gathered snippets of writing from each respective author and pasted various snippets in each day’s devotional.

The issue is that the devotional comes off as abrupt and decontextualized. They’re often too short and too disconnected to deliver any meaningful impact. This is, of course, because the author didn’t mean for those few paragraphs to be read by themselves but within the framework of a larger body. The impact comes in the form of powerful sentences, which are always worth reading.

[Heather Jones · Rating 3 out of 5]

It is a useful book for devotional reading, but I found that I was frustrated with it, because I could tell the excerpts were coming from much more complex works, and I found the choppiness of the excerpting clumsy- I wanted the fuller context.

Maybe this isn't the fault of the editors, and I should just go read the original texts.

Also, the paper quality of the edition I read was unpleasantly low - I don't know if this is available in a nicer edition with better paper, but yuck.

[Luke Soto · Rating 3 out of 5]

there is a strong lesson in prayer and learning from the ones who knew how to pray are the ones best able to teach it.

like a supplemental vitamin this book is there to help the believer learn how to make prayer a normal part of life and make prayer a routine everyday thing and make them stronger as well.

this is a good read, simple fast and very insightful. I hope you enjoy it and it helps you as much as it has helped me.

[Kyle Bartsch · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another great little book emphasizing the necessity of prayer for the believer. This book may be short and readable in small chunks but it is densely packed with biblical application for one’s prayer life. John Wesley is a hero of the faith, and though I don’t agree with all of his views, his work speaks for itself, it is Christ focused. If you’re looking to strengthen your prayer life, this should be a book you pick up. Short, and packed with biblical truth.

[Deborah-Ruth · Rating 5 out of 5]

Short meditations and teachings on prayer by John Wesley. I used this book as part of my daily devotions. It was an excellent read. Yes, some things are written in an older style because of the time period John Wesley was from, but the truths hold even until this present day. Methodism is blessed to have such a wise and godly founder.

[Jeremy Cascamisi · Rating 5 out of 5]

My first devotional this year. John Wesley writes so clearly it’s hard to believe he wrote this in the 1700’s. What he shares here is incredibly applicable to today and I definitely see myself re-reading this one.

“I have so much to do that I spend several hours in prayer before I am able to do it.” - John Wesley

[Bill · Rating 5 out of 5]

Some challenging insights. This is a book that has the devotional quality to be read repeatedly. Our prayer life always has room for growth, and meditating on the principles outlined here will surely lead to that end.

[James Kerr · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book had a couple of good parts on prayer but it was all together underwhelming. Further complicating matters is Wesley’s theology of sinless perfection and the ability to lose salvation in the final 20% of the book.

[Melissa · Rating 2 out of 5]

I'm a Methodist and I admire John Wesley, but the writings in this collection were hard to read and seemed very harsh and repetitive at times. Wouldn't read this as an introduction to Wesley's beliefs.

[Joyce Olij · Rating 3 out of 5]

Some devotionals were very good, and bold in their train of thought. Others, not so much.

[Teri Pizza · Rating 5 out of 5]

Made me appreciate John Wesley and his contributions.

[Lisa · Rating 4 out of 5]

Teaching on the life of John Wesley and how to pray. Good book

[Jamie Pennington · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent book. I used it as a daily devotional.

[Mensah Elvis]

Good

[Kathleen Rehagen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not the most fascinating this on the planet, but very good at recalculating the heart on God which is where I want mine to always be.

[Kyle Willey · Rating 5 out of 5]

Bearing in mind that this is a very small $1 collection of a section of Wesley's writings, very good.

[Kevin Casto · Rating 5 out of 5]

A short look at Wesley's thoughts on prayer and our need for it in the Christian life.