The Valley of Vision: A Collection of Puritan Prayers & Devotions

by Arthur Bennett

Product Description'When used slowly, for meditation and prayer, these pages have often been used by God's Spirit to kindle my dry heart.' MARK DEVER- - - - - - - - - -The strength of Puritan character and life lay in prayer and meditation. In this practice the spirit of prayer was regarded as of first importance and the best form of prayer, for living prayer is the characteristic of genuine spirituality. Yet prayer is also vocal and may therefore on occasions be written. Consequently in the Puritan tradition there are many written prayers and meditations which constitute an important corpus of inspiring devotional literature. Too often ex tempore prayer lacks variety, order and definiteness. The reason for this lies partly in a neglect of due preparation. It is here that the care and scriptural thoroughness which others found necessary in their approach to God may be of help. This book has been prepared not to 'supply' prayers but to prompt and encourage the Christian as he treads the path on which others have gone before.

Genres: Christian

Kindle Edition

Published October 5, 2022

About the author

Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name.

Reviews

[Caitlin Ekberg · Rating 5 out of 5]

“Give me the sweet results of faith, in my secret character, and in my public life.
Cast cords of love around my heart, then hold me and never let me go.
May the saviors wounds sway me more than the scepter of princes.
Let me love thee in a love that covers and swallows up all, that I may not violate my chaste union with the beloved;
There is much unconquered territory in my nature, scourge out the buyers and sellers of my souls temple, and give me in return pure desires and longings after perfect holiness.” -a ministers praises

I officially “finished” this treasure trove of the prayers of the puritans but this is one of those books that you will never actually be done reading. I’ve been reading this book here and there for two years but a couple months ago I decided to just read through it one by one even if the prayer didn’t “apply to me” that day…well there was no need for my fear of the prayer not applying because conviction of sin and the love of the savior are the ever present themes in every line of this sweet book and they never grow old or fail to encourage and convict.

It’s been a season of heavy readings for school and exhausting days but I have looked forward to ending each day with this book in hand and drifting off to sleep in peace with its words ringing in my mind.

If you’ve never read through all of these prayers, you are missing out and I encourage you to take it up again and read through it one by one so you don’t miss a single gem!

[Mary Bender · Rating 5 out of 5]

My second time reading through these prayers. I could continue on infinitely and still need to be reminded. Immensely encouraged & humbled as I come before God with these words. May His Word be ever on my lips as He alone is worthy of it all.

[Jack Smith · Rating 5 out of 5]

“We are lost: but in it thou hast presented to us a full, free and eternal salvation;
weak: but here we learn that help is found in One that is mighty,
poor: but in him we discover unreachable riches,
blind: but we find he has treasures of wisdom and knowledge.
We thank thee for thy unspeakable gift.

May his glory fill our minds, his love reign in our affections, his cross inflame us with ardour.”

[Conner Hampton · Rating 5 out of 5]

Daily go through this to just hear the wise words of old saints. The puritans were some amazing men of the faith, and it’s a pleasure to read their prayers and be inspired and edified through them and strengthened in my own prayer life. This should be an essential in all Christian libraries and read often! 10000/5

Favorite quote: “I am well pleased with thy will, whatever it is; or should be in all respects, And if thou bidst me decide for myself in any affair, I would choose to refer all to thee, for thou art infinitely wise and cannot do amiss, as I am in danger of doing.”

[Kara Jo · Rating 5 out of 5]

just the best book; that gives me the words i want to say when i dont know how to say them

[Jennifer Barbee · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thoroughly enjoyed this book of prayers! Each is humbling and convicting! I could truly go on with this book forever and not grow tired.

[Ethan Gualano · Rating 5 out of 5]

How did the Puritans pray? Were the prayers long and solemn? Did they have tons of emotion? Was it in broken English? There's a lot of questions surrounding the Puritans. While "Valley of Vision" isn't a book seeking to do a historical discussion or dissection of Puritan prayer, it does answer most of those questions. Inside "The Valley of Vision" Bennett places over a hundred prayers from Puritans (though they are not labeled to the Puritan who prayed them) and categorizes them based on the circumstance they fit into.
Personally, this book humbled me incredibly. I don't know if I realized how "shallow" or "irreverent" my prayers could be, though they may have truly been genuine and from my heart. I hesitate to say there is a right way to pray, but there certainly are distinct aspects of the Puritan's prayers that we may do well to reflect on. I know others use this devotional differently, but I found myself reading the certain prayer I was looking at, and then praying my own prayer with the Puritan's prayer as a guideline. I think the Puritans do a really good a job of recognizing that there truly isn't anything "good" in man, and that all the "good" we have after Christ is a work of Christ itself and you see this in the prayers of the Puritans. When I was first introduced to the book, I bought 3-4 copies and have given them to many of my friends and family because of the profound impact it has made. I highly encourage every Christian to own a copy.

[Danielle · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 stars. In this classic, Arthur Bennett has collected the prayers of Puritans to help believers strengthen their prayer lives and give words to the times when we may not know how to pray.

I took my time with this book, reading a prayer a day for most of it and then going through the weekly prayers for morning and evening. There is such an earnestness in these prayers that my own heart could identify with, and many were read at a time that the words matched my own thoughts and feelings. Know that you will find classic Puritan themes here: the hatred of sin, the acknowledgement of one's own weakness and depravity, and the mercy of the Lord on us who are most undeserving. Overall this is a book I will keep coming back to over the years, and I'm so thankful for the work Bennett did to collect, organize, and publish these prayers.

[Grayson Herzberger · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Valley of Vision is a collection of Puritan prayers which offer an excellent resource for daily reflection. It provides an accurate reflection of the heart of a follower of Jesus Christ. Living lives devoted to His service, the authors of these prayers use the English language to compose beautiful works of praise to King Jesus.
This Collection is well worth your time!

[Joe Molinari · Rating 5 out of 5]

I cannot express in words how valuable this book was to me. For the past year or so, I’ve read the daily prayer before embarking upon my own prayer. It always calibrated my heart and prepared my posture for praying my own prayer. I will start over with it immediately!

[Pam Jenness · Rating 5 out of 5]

An absolute gem is hidden under this outdated cover! The Puritans high view of God and humble view of self help present day believers pray aright.

[Harley Cottingham · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a book full of Puritan prayers with rich theology and model prayer. Best read as a devotional for daily encouragement.