Into His Presence: Praying with the Puritans

by Tim Chester

Collection of Puritan prayers and meditations that will help personal and public prayer. This collection of eighty theologically rich and beautifully written prayers and meditations, adapted from Puritan prayers and prose, will enrich and deepen your prayer life. While retaining the dignity and beauty of the original language, Tim Chester has updated key words and phrases, making the book accessible to modern readers. Each prayer combines beautiful words with profound truths. Read during personal devotions or use to lead rich and deep corporate prayers to give weight and majesty to gathered times of worship. Includes rich and glorious prayers from John Owen, Thomas Watson, Anne Bradstreet, Richard Baxter and more.

Genres: Prayer, Christian, Theology, Christian Living, Nonfiction, Devotional

208 pages, Hardcover

First published October 1, 2022

About the author

Dr Tim Chester is involved in The Crowded House, a church planting initiative in Sheffield, UK. He was previously Research & Policy Director for Tearfund UK, and has been published widely on prayer, mission, social issues and theology. He is married to Helen and has two daughters.

Reviews

[H.b. Charles · Rating 5 out of 5]

The collection of Puritan prayers and devotionals has been a great friend to me during my times of morning prayer. I read a couple of prayers each morning to warm my heart to call on the Lord in prayer. I have also used several of these prayers in the prayers meetings at my church with warm response. Highly recommended for private and public edification.

[Josiah Richardson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Daily readings from puritan prayers make for encouraging yet convicting, easy but difficult, enlightening yet confusing, obtuse yet powerfully rewarding readings.

[Shawn · Rating 5 out of 5]

Edifying

[Aaron · Rating 5 out of 5]

What can we learn from Puritan prayers? In Into His Presence, Tim Chester takes you along in praying with the Puritans.

Faithful Saints
In just over 200 pages, this is a beautiful book. The prayers cover a wide variety of topics, including prayers of gratitude and dependence, as well as prayers for times of need and times of temptation.

Half of the prayers are Puritan prayers edited by Chester. The other half were created by Chester out of descriptive passages from Puritan sermons or books. This is truly a work of art, collaborating with saints in the past and giving new life to their prayers. Read them as a part of personal devotions to be inspired and think about the faithful saints who have come before us.

Theological Riches
What I most appreciated was the modern language used throughout. Chester updated the language while trying to retain the feel of the original writers. This results in richly theological, accessible prayers that sound natural enough to read aloud with a modern audience in mind. Employ them in the pulpit and use them during your family devotions.

Housed in a small, beautiful blue hardcover, this book makes the perfect Christmas gift to guide you in prayer throughout the new year. The book concludes with brief biographical entries on each author. I was reminded of the privilege of prayer, and resolved to live my life in the presence of God.

I received a media copy of Into His Presence and this is my honest review.

[Nicholas Potts · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow! Incredible book! The prayers in here are so very vital even for our daily prayers, pastoral prayers, and corporate prayers today! Recommended for church book lists and even for use during your own liturgy.

[Deon]

$2.99 on Kindle
June 20, 2023
https://amzn.to/3JnvnBk

#ad

[Sarah]

I read this two times. I am on my third time reading this.

[Emma R. Pilcher · Rating 4 out of 5]

Beautiful.

[Tina · Rating 5 out of 5]

I enjoyed listening this book of prayers and prose. Uplifting!

[Mallory · Rating 5 out of 5]

The words of the Puritans are so saturated with Godly wisdom that we’d all do well to read them on a daily basis. If you struggle with prayer or are looking for ways to boost your prayer life, this book is a wonderful way to do that. This compilation of puritan prayers is broken up into various categories including topics like Praise to the Father, Gratitude, Confession, Tims of Anxiety, Morning and Evening, Everyday Life. Each prayer is rich in gospel-centered truth, pointing the reader to fix their eyes on Jesus Christ. Chester did a wonderful job at updating the language for modern readers without losing any of the theological richness of the original.

I really appreciate the source list at the end of the book to do further reading if so desired. And the ribbon bookmark is a nice touch!

This is a book all homes should have. I leave it on our coffee table for anyone to pick up and read when they have a few spare minutes. There’s abundant richness within this small book that is appropriate for any day of the year.

[Derrick · Rating 3 out of 5]

I give it 3 stars. I've nothing bad to say about the book and maybe that is should warrant it a 5 star review? It seemed legit and grounded. I listened to it as an audiobook which is weird unless you want to go into an intense 4 hour prayer session. It's just a collection of puritan prayers. Which are cool and they make you think. I'm not opposed to reading or praying pre-written prayers. I just don't know if it is quite for me. The audiobook was a good intro into answering if this is something I agree with or not from my own theological beliefs and it lined up well as it should for anything from the Puritans. They were central to the gospel and somewhat avoided any extremes. A good book but still just 3 stars because it just isn't quite for me either I think. Not right now, I don't know how I would incorporate written prayers into my life.

[Stephanie Ridiculous]

I'm going to refrain from giving a star rating here because I don't totally know how to apply a standard star rating. This was a gift from a lovely friend, and in theory this is a fantastic gift for me - I love prayer collections & exploring different styles of prayer.

There are quite a few lovely prayers here, and in theory it's a good compliment to any devotional time or library. However, I cannot fathom why in 2022 folks, including Chester here, are still platforming and elevating men that were pro-slavery and staunchly racist. It's time to move on and leave such people behind, and instead look to other voices that are better able & equipped to show us Christ-likeness. The inclusion of such men in this collection renders me unable to recommend it.

[Brodie Smith · Rating 4 out of 5]

I've not been one to read the prayers of others, but for some reason, this caught my attention. Having now completed it, I have a greater appreciation for the wisdom of others as they took time to put their prayers to paper. While not every prayer in this book–there are 80 of them–resonates, there were quite a number I bookmarked for reading again regularly and snippets from many that I highlighted for further meditation. Regardless of how you feel about the Puritans (and their prayers), there are rich blessings to be mined in their recorded prayers. Give this one a shot and see how different your prayer life may be.

[Kate · Rating 4 out of 5]

4 1/2 stars. I loved Valley of Vision and when I saw this book I was excited. It didn’t disappoint and I have enjoyed this book at night for many months. There was a little section at the back with short biographies on each of the Puritans. I do love how they prayed, their reverence for a Holy God, his many wonderful attributes and their humble understanding of their need for God’s grace and mercy. I am sure I will pick this little book up again.

[Sam Dyer · Rating 5 out of 5]

(4.6) These rich, edited Puritan prayers have really blessed my morning prayer times, giving deep and varied language to speak back to God.

This volume also has some great prayers for leading services, times of confession and prayers in church.

[Steve · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great Book on Prayer

The prayers are easy to read, and spiritually rich. Each prayer has been updated from the original language, making it easy to read.

[Aubrianna · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very helpful.

[Laura · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beautiful book of prayers!

[Sheri Ingersoll · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beautiful!

[Hannah · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beautiful book of prayers that do truly draw you into His presence.

[Reid · Rating 5 out of 5]

I like Tim Chester's writing and in this collection of 80 prayers from Puritan backgrounds in readable English.

[Bobby James · Rating 4 out of 5]

It’s no Valley of Vision but still good!

[Jonathan Thomas · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a beautiful collection of prayers.

The prayers are well categorised and put out. The book is a lovely hardback.

Prayers for all occasions.

[Riley Pearson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Magnificent! I will definitely use some of these prayers in my devotional and quiet time. I am so thankful Chester published this edition!

[Eric Swanson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book

Great prayers to get the reader’s thoughts on God. There are many different subjects in the book from different writers.

[Jill Stirling · Rating 5 out of 5]

A useful tool.