Ascetic X
Well-Known Member
Is anyone else using The Valley of Vision in their prayers, devotions, or meditations?
A few days ago, after the Wednesday night Bible study / prayer meeting, my pastor gave me a bonded leather edition of The Valley of Vision. He always selects a prayer from this book to close the prayer sessions. The church has a big box full of new shrink-wrapped copies of it to hand out free to anyone who wants one,
It is a collection of Puritan inspired prayers, edited by Arthur Bennett (1915–1994), Canon of St. Albans Cathedral and theology tutor.
I find it deeply pious, wonderfully reverent, and very uplifting.
The prayers flow from hearts that yearn to please God, while acknowledging their fleshly follies and lack of perfection. They weave biblical truths together in beautifully honest and humble ways to express the wide range of emotions the Christian faces: awe, faith, regret, penitence, thanksgiving, sorrow, desperation, joy, and more.
Iain Murray of The Banner of Truth Trust, known for his biographies of Charles Spurgeon, Martyn-Lloyd Jones, and Jonathan Edwards, encouraged Arthur Bennett to compile and publish The Valley of Vision.
The Valley of Vision was not a runaway success when it first came out: it sold less than 20,000 copies in the US by the time of Bennett’s death in 1994. Since then, it has gone on to sell over 337,000 copies worldwide (statistics from 2013).
Why Puritan prayers? Bennett comments in the preface, “The strength of Puritan character and life lay in the practice of prayer and meditation. Many of those who held the doctrines of grace wrote down a record of God’s intimate dealings with their souls, not with an eye to publication, but, as in David Brainerd’s case, to test their spiritual growth, and to encourage themselves by their re-perusal in times of low spiritual fervor.”
A few days ago, after the Wednesday night Bible study / prayer meeting, my pastor gave me a bonded leather edition of The Valley of Vision. He always selects a prayer from this book to close the prayer sessions. The church has a big box full of new shrink-wrapped copies of it to hand out free to anyone who wants one,
It is a collection of Puritan inspired prayers, edited by Arthur Bennett (1915–1994), Canon of St. Albans Cathedral and theology tutor.
I find it deeply pious, wonderfully reverent, and very uplifting.
The prayers flow from hearts that yearn to please God, while acknowledging their fleshly follies and lack of perfection. They weave biblical truths together in beautifully honest and humble ways to express the wide range of emotions the Christian faces: awe, faith, regret, penitence, thanksgiving, sorrow, desperation, joy, and more.
- Publisher: The Banner of Truth Trust (first published in 1975)
- Contents: Around 200 written prayers and meditations drawn from historical Puritan and non-conformists.
- Sources: John Bunyan, Richard Baxter, Isaac Watts, Christmas Evans, David Brainerd, Thomas Watson, William Jay, Thomas Shepard, Henry Law, William Romaine, Augustus Toplady, William Williams, Philip Doddridge, and Charles Spurgeon, though individual authors are not explicitly labeled for each prayer.
- Structure: Grouped into ten thematic sections (such as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit; Redemption and Reconciliation; Penitence; Gifts of Grace) and closing with a section of morning and evening prayers for the days of the week.
Iain Murray of The Banner of Truth Trust, known for his biographies of Charles Spurgeon, Martyn-Lloyd Jones, and Jonathan Edwards, encouraged Arthur Bennett to compile and publish The Valley of Vision.
The Valley of Vision was not a runaway success when it first came out: it sold less than 20,000 copies in the US by the time of Bennett’s death in 1994. Since then, it has gone on to sell over 337,000 copies worldwide (statistics from 2013).
Why Puritan prayers? Bennett comments in the preface, “The strength of Puritan character and life lay in the practice of prayer and meditation. Many of those who held the doctrines of grace wrote down a record of God’s intimate dealings with their souls, not with an eye to publication, but, as in David Brainerd’s case, to test their spiritual growth, and to encourage themselves by their re-perusal in times of low spiritual fervor.”
