In yesterday’s sermon I mentioned a book by the mighty Bible commentator Matthew Henry, A Method for Prayer. Quite few folk have expressed interest in it… so I thought I’d both encourage that, but also flag up one or two warnings so that we don’t get discouraged early on. The first thing to remember is that this is a book that was written 300 years ago. The use and style of language has changed a bit over those three centuries, which can make reading a book like this an aquired skill… in other words it can take a bit of time and effort to work out, and at times to ‘translate’ what Matthew Henry is saying. I remember the penny-drop moment when I realised that ‘divers’ equates to the modern word ‘diverse’ (as in: many or varied), and not to sub-aquatic swimmers (which never really made sense)! I think it’s worth the effort, but don’t get discouraged if it takes a bit of time - and if you are struggling, drop me an email…

Secondly - and this is much more significant - don’t try to read it ‘cover-to-cover’. It isn’t that kind of book. There are a few parts of the book you can just read. The opening letter to the Reader; and the sections at the end entitled ‘Directions for Daily Communion with God. But apart from those bits, it works much better as a kind of reference book. So, for example, if I wanted to pray for those who are struggling with mental health issues, I might turn up Chapter 6, section 22, and draw some help and inspiration from there. Or if I wanted to pray for our nation in a time of crisis, I’d start with Ch.5, section C ‘We must pray earnestly for national mercies’. Because this is the nature of the book, you have to use it for a while before you start to get an idea of what’s in there… In that sense it is a book to be prayed through rather than read through…

You might want to use it as part of your own devotional life so that you become familiar with it in this way. It certainly takes off the beaten tracks that our own prayers may have worn over the years. I regularly find myself thinking: I’d never have thought to pray that…

Thirdly, because it was written in a different time, it might not be ‘politically correct’. Whether that is a good thing or a bad thing I’ll leave you to decide for yourself. I’m just alerting you to the possiblity that occasionally you’ll read something that will make you catch your breath and think ‘I’m not praying that!’. Sometimes it might be worth looking up the passages that Henry is basing his prayers on and deciding if you think he is being fair to the Bible’s teaching.

And finally, I’ve found over the years that books like this serve a primers for prayer. The first few lines might be all I need sometimes, before I’ve got a sense of how to pray for something, and I am able to put ‘A Method for Prayer’ down. I doubt Matthew Henry would begrudge me that!

With those qualification in place, I commend this book to you, and would encourage you to allow the Holy SPirit to expand our vision of prayer, and to discipline us to pray more fully and consciously in a way that is shaped by the will of God revelad by the Spirit through the Scriptures. Of course, this isn’t the final word on ‘prayer’, and some might not find it helpful - but I think the idea that shapes the book is one we all need to take on board.

so, don’t read this book, pray it…

And thanks to Graham Bricknell for pointing out to me that there is a free online version available at  https://www.matthewhenry.org