Fount of Heaven: Prayers of the Early Church

Prayers of the Church

by Robert Elmer (Editor), Augustine of Hippo (Contributor), John Chrysostom (Contributor)

You are the fountain of life, light, and all grace and truth

The hearts of the first Christians beat with praise for Christ. The strength of their devotion is remarkable, considering the times of uncertainty and persecution in which they lived. Despite all of this, the early church flourished, sustained by the God to whom they prayed.

Christians today have a lot to learn from the devotional life of the early church. In Fount of Heaven, a collection of carefully selected prayers from the first six centuries of the church, we can pray with our spiritual forefathers. Prayers from luminaries such as Clement of Rome, Irenaeus, and Augustine are arranged by theme to reveal the right prayer for the moment. The prayers have been slightly updated to read more easily, but they retain their joy and mystery. As we turn to the prayers of the first Christians, we can return to the foundations of our own faith.

Genres: Prayer, Church History, Devotional, Christian Living, Theology, Nonfiction, Christianity

352 pages, Hardcover

First published September 1, 2022

About the author

Robert Elmer is the author of more than fifty books, including contemporary novels for the adult Christian audience, nonfiction devotionals like Piercing Heaven and Fount of Heaven (Lexham Press), and seven series for younger readers. Among kids, he is best known for his historicals such as the Young Underground, Adventures Down Under, Life Behind the Wall, and Promise of Zion books. When he's not at the keyboard, he enjoys beachcombing and travel with his wife, and spending time with their three kids and families.

Reviews

[Christian Barrett · Rating 5 out of 5]

This has been a delight to my personal prayer life, and has slowly influenced my corporate prayers. A must have.

[Adam Lam · Rating 5 out of 5]

Read this book nightly over more than a year. Really good and uplifting! Gave me a sense of how the early church prayed and understood ideas about God. Becoming more familiar with the early church fathers was really cool too.

"We beg you, Lord and Master: be our help and encouragement. Rescue those among us who are facing hard times. Have mercy on the lowly. Lift up the fallen. Show yourself to the needy. Heal the ungodly. Convert the wanderers among your people. Feed the hungry. Release our presioners. Raise up the weak. Comfort the fainthearted."

"For what is more brilliant for a king than a robe embroidered with flowers, and a shining crown? You delight in the people you have created. What is more magnificent for you than to take on our form? You light up those who sit in darkness, in the shadow of death."

[Eliot DeLorme · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Church Fathers not only defended orthodox trinitarianism but they poured out their hearts to the triune God in praise, petition, and thanksgiving. Their prayers reach to heaven and yet, they are grounded to common life on earth.

The back of the book includes mini bios of each of the fathers whose prayers were included. It also includes the sources that the editor, Robert Elmer, found the prayers in, if you want to dig deeper. I also recommend his compilation of Puritan prayers in a volume called “Piercing Heaven”.

Here are a couple examples of the rich prayers you’ll find in this book.

Lord Decorate our Homes with Your Goodness
By John Chrysostom

“Lord, we want to invite you to our homes. So we decorate them with giving to the needy, with prayers, with requests, and with vigils that focus unceasingly on the needs of others. These are the decorations of Christ, the King. We are not ashamed, then of having a humble house, if it has this kind of furniture.”


A Palm Sunday Prayer by Ephraim the Syrian

“Today the forests rejoice. Each tree sings its own sweet anthem, because we wave their leafy branches as banners for the King of Kings.

Let all of creation rejoice; we are no longer silent. The heavenly one has come to us, sitting humbly on a foal. Let every village, every city, praise his name with a happy shout. Even the lips of infants are singing:

Blessed are you, the King who came!

Amen.”

[Jenny · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really like this series. The prayers are beautiful, and it is comforting (I can’t think of the right word) to reflect on being part of a long tradition that has endured for millennia. Some of the things in these prayers resonate across time, but some concerns are more reflective of the world of the authors. Beautiful and thought-provoking.

[Teresa · Rating 5 out of 5]

I received this book as a gift last year, and the beautiful clothbound volume has sat on a side table for months. I finally picked it up today, and was impressed with what a great resource it is! I appreciate that the prayers are categorized by themes, though I do wish the language of the prayers was not quite so modernized. Love the glossary of many early Christians in the back of the book. Looking forward to making use of this resource throughout the year.

[Kelly Gwin · Rating 4 out of 5]

The book is beautiful aesthetically, I love the concept, and enjoyed having all the authors cited on each prayer. I wish it had been organized by author, and I think the language used for the translations could have been elevated. I felt like the more simplistic wording dampened the impact and sense of antiquity I was expecting to have while reading the prayers/writings of such revered saints. Overall, though, I was thoroughly blessed and encouraged.

[Becky · Rating 3 out of 5]

First sentence: Scripture tells us in Luke 11:1 that the original twelve disciples asked Jesus how to pray. It was a good question then, and one worth asking again today.

Fount of Heaven is a collection of prayers from the early church fathers; these prayers come from the first few centuries of the church.

I believe they are arranged somewhat topically. Though to be fair I had a hard time decoding the topics and themes. In part, I think there IS a definite gap. The writings feel foreign which can be explained for at least two reasons: the authors were born thousands of years ago AND there are big cultural shifts. It isn't a bad thing to get snapshots from the past. Especially if you want to take the time to really settle in and engage with the writing. This requires perhaps getting out of your comfort zone and putting in the effort to find meaning, to go beyond the surface level.

I was hoping this one would read more like Valley of Vision, a collection of Puritan prayers. It didn't. That's not the author's fault.

The author I found myself 'liking' most was Augustine. I think for me personally I might have been better off seeking something that was just focused on Augustine. I'm sure such books exist!

I also think this one probably wasn't meant to be read cover to cover in a week. Again, I think if you were to have this book in hand and spend weeks, months, or even an entire year with it, you might find it valuable.

[Glenn Crouch · Rating 5 out of 5]

This has been a pleasant addition to my daily devotions - as in I read one prayer each day. I liked that there is no commentary supplied, just an easy readable translation which is easy to pray. Unsurprisingly, Augustine does have many entries. However, I was very pleased with the wide variety of authors.

We sometimes study Church History as if it were mere storytelling. We may even read translations of the more notable works, like Augustine’s Confession. However, a marvellous way to get an insight into the spiritual heart of the Early Church is to read their prayers.

This is an excellent starting point for anyone with limited knowledge of the early years of Christianity.

I look forward to using the other prayer collections from this author.

[Brian Pate · Rating 3 out of 5]

Collection of prayers from early church fathers, including Augustine, Gregory Nazianzen, Ambrose, John Chrysostom, and others.

"Voice of the Father, the world is noisy. Our mind wanders. Make still those other voices, and let us find quiet in you. For by you the sea was stilled from its storms" (Ephraim the Syrian, p. 304).

(A minor critique: Some sections of prayers were repeated with slightly different wording, perhaps being pulled from different sources and translations. For example, on p. 99 a prayer is attributed to Gregory of Nyssa, but on p. 112 the same prayer is attributed to his sister, Macrina. There is also a repeated prayer on p. 141.)

[Carson Knauff · Rating 4 out of 5]

Solid prayer book. Exactly what you think it is with no surprises. Was not a mind blowing prayer book and I prefer Valley of Vision, but still really enjoyed this. You can definitely tell the editor of this work loves St. Augustine.

[David Smith · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good collection of early church prayers. I especially appreciated the prayers written by: Augustine, Melito of Sardis, Paulinus Pellaeus, Clement of Rome, Ephraim the Syrian, Serapion Scholasticus, Ambrose of Milan, Basil of Caesarea, John Chrysostom, John Cassian, Gregory Nazianzen.

[Jill Stirling · Rating 5 out of 5]

Lovely book. Beautiful prayers.

[Peter Mahaffey · Rating 5 out of 5]

So edifying to the soul. I highly recommend.

[Sven Melling · Rating 5 out of 5]

Phenomenal book. Collection of prayers. I shall be reading it again and again, as part of my prayer time.

[Joseph · Rating 4 out of 5]

Used for our evening family prayers.

[Travis Breedveld · Rating 5 out of 5]

I enjoyed this step back in history to pray