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The Valley of Vision: A Collection of Puritan Prayers and Devotions
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.
223 pages, Paperback
First published November 1, 1975
About the author
Arthur Bennett
1 book8 followersThe author, Arthur Bennet, was a Canon of St. Albans Cathedral, sometime Rector of Little Munden and Sacombe, Hertfordshire, and was for seventeen years a tutor in Biblical Theology and Christian Doctrine at All Nations Christian College. He died in October 1994 aged 79.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 555 reviews
May 26, 2013
Quite possibly the best book I've read all year. These prayers are amazing. In Mudhouse Sabbath, Lauren Winner talks about the benefit of a formal prayer book. She notes that her free-form prayers often devolve into narcissism (this has definitely been my experience), but that the formal, written prayers refocus her on God. This book is a great example of the benefit of written prayers. My own free-form prayers often send me down a rabbit hole of my own personal worries and burdens--worries and burdens that I am right to share with God. But I think every one of the prayers in this book contains the Gospel, and when I read them, I am preaching the Gospel to myself. Instead of bringing my problems to God for Him to change, I find my focus shifting to my own sin, God's grace, Christ's sacrifice, and my own undeserved salvation.
Also, written prayers like these are very helpful if you are struggling with prayer. I certainly found it so. The words are true and they say true things about God and Christ and the Gospel. So when I cannot find the words or the heart to pray on my own, I can pray these written prayers. Not that I try to pray them without meaning them. I very much intend to mean them. And even if I do start out not really meaning the prayer, I usually do end up meaning it somewhere along the way. It is surprising how much such prayers can transform the human heart.
Also, written prayers like these are very helpful if you are struggling with prayer. I certainly found it so. The words are true and they say true things about God and Christ and the Gospel. So when I cannot find the words or the heart to pray on my own, I can pray these written prayers. Not that I try to pray them without meaning them. I very much intend to mean them. And even if I do start out not really meaning the prayer, I usually do end up meaning it somewhere along the way. It is surprising how much such prayers can transform the human heart.
September 26, 2020
This incredible volume is so theologically dense that it will take a lifetime of readings to fathom its depths. This is a book of prayers written by anonymous Puritans from centuries ago. But, boy, do these good folk know how to pray. The prayers are short (2 pages apiece in my edition) and one could easily read the entire book in a few days, but there is so much to ponder and meditate on that I limited myself to no more than 6 pages per reading session. This is a book that I will be coming back to time and time again to be refreshed, convicted, schooled and made joyful by these bygone words from precious saints.
Want to read
February 1, 2024The first and most famous poem/prayer was written by the editor, Arthur Bennett. Regarding the sources for the other prayers, we know only a little. Adam Marshall is attempting to uncover more sources.
January 14, 2020
Li em três dias essa coletânea fantástica de orações. Este com certeza é um livro que lerei todos os anos da minha vida, ao menos uma vez por ano. Na verdade, creio que todo cristão deveria fazer exatamente isso.
August 5, 2009
It's amazing that Puritan prayers from hundreds of years ago are still so applicable and powerful in modern times. My favorite of the collection is "Morning Dedication," which ends this way: "May I speak each word as if my final word, and walk each step as my final one. If my life should end today, let this be my best day."
January 15, 2012
This book is a collection of excerpts from different Puritan writers arranged as prayers and organized by category. I have been reading a prayer a day with my devotions and have found it helpful to make their prayers my own. I only wish I knew which Puritans wrote them as the book doesn't tell you. Here are some of my favorite prayers:
May my words and works allure others to the highest walks of faith and love.
Teach me the happy art of attending to things temporal with a mind intent on things eternal.
Make thy cross the ground of all my comfort,
the liveliness of all my duties,
the sum of all thy gospel promises,
the comfort of all my afflictions,
the vigor of my love, thankfulness, graces,
the very essence of my religion.
May I always know that a clean heart full of goodness is more beautiful than the lily, that only a clean heart can sing by night and by day, that such a heart is mine when I abide at Calvary.
I think this book could enrich your prayer life!
May my words and works allure others to the highest walks of faith and love.
Teach me the happy art of attending to things temporal with a mind intent on things eternal.
Make thy cross the ground of all my comfort,
the liveliness of all my duties,
the sum of all thy gospel promises,
the comfort of all my afflictions,
the vigor of my love, thankfulness, graces,
the very essence of my religion.
May I always know that a clean heart full of goodness is more beautiful than the lily, that only a clean heart can sing by night and by day, that such a heart is mine when I abide at Calvary.
I think this book could enrich your prayer life!
July 23, 2022
I have marked a number of prayers to share with my classes this school year.
May 24, 2021
Ótimo companheiro para as devocionais, principalmente, quando o coração está um pouco endurecido, ou se está sentido abandonado, ou, ainda, terrivelmente pecador e sem perdão.
Em momento algum substitui a leitura da Bíblia; contudo o seu valor, está justamente na compilação da boa teologia a partir da Escritura.
Em momento algum substitui a leitura da Bíblia; contudo o seu valor, está justamente na compilação da boa teologia a partir da Escritura.
January 3, 2018
The book I read, re-read and read again. My lifetime favorite. Stirs the soul and engages the affections.
October 15, 2019
The Valley of Vision is an edited collection of prayers written by Puritan authors from the 17th to 19th centuries (e.g. Thomas Watson, Richard Baxter, John Bunyan, Isaac Watts, David Brainerd, C.H. Spurgeon). This book has been a rich source of encouragement and food for my soul as I've read a prayer each day over the last 2 or 3 years. (How can there possibly be 400 pages & 200 prayers in a such a little book?! I should have bought the paperback, the thin paper in the leather bound edition I have is deceptive...) These prayers are passionate, theological, realistic, uncompromising, 'blood-earnest' and joyful. At times a prayer from the Valley of Vision has uplifted me when I've been discouraged, rebuked me when I've been apathetic or sobered me when I've been flippant. The book is well presented and helpfully arranged, and several times I was able to use a prayer as the basis for a public prayer during church. The old English is a struggle sometimes, and there are cultural connections which are no longer relevant.
June 29, 2021
One of my favorite works! Putting words to prayers I cold only dream of praying. Immensely encouraging, challenging and inspirational!
It took me a long time to work through it because the wealth of content was so deep.
It took me a long time to work through it because the wealth of content was so deep.
April 25, 2013
One of the most influential books in shaping my walk with Christ over the past four years. Will continue to read and re-read... many jewels here.
June 30, 2024
The Valley of Vision is a collection of prayers, 195 in all, compiled by Arthur Bennett from various men from the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, including John Bunyan, Thomas Watson, David Brainerd, Isaac Watts, Augustus Toplady, Philip Doddridge, and Charles Spurgeon, as well as others. These short, devotional, poetic prayers are a wonderful way to start and/or end each day. They would serve well for private, personal devotions and meditation, or for family worship.
The prayers in this collection highlight such doctrinal truths as the roles of the persons of the Trinity, the sovereignty of God in salvation, the importance of mortifying sin, the attributes of God, the atoning work of Christ on the cross, and the sanctifying work of the Holy Spirit in the life of the believer.
The poems express thoughts of praise and thanksgiving, encouragement, comfort, humility and repentance. Unlike much of what is written for Christians these days, these passages rightly elevate God’s Word and works and the person of the Lord Jesus Christ, and keep a proper perspective of man and his dependence on the Lord for all he is and has.
The title of the collection was taken from Isaiah 22 and was the inspiration for this introductory prayer by Bennett:
"Lord, High and Holy, Meek and Lowly,
"Thou hast brought me to the valley of vision, where I live in the depths but see thee in the heights; hemmed in by mountains of sin I behold thy glory.
Let me learn by paradox,
that the way down is the way up,
that to be low is to be high,
that the broken heart is the healed heart,
that the contrite spirit is the rejoicing spirit,
that the repenting soul is the victorious soul,
that to have nothing is to possess all,
that to bear the cross is to wear the crown,
that to give is to receive,
that the valley is the place of vision.
Lord, in the daytime stars can be seen from deepest wells,
and the deeper the wells the brighter thy stars shine;
Let me find thy light in my darkness,
thy life in my death,
thy joy in my sorrow,
thy grace in my sin,
thy riches in my poverty,
thy glory in my valley."
The prayers have been organized topically in sections under the following headings:
Father, Son and Holy Spirit
Redemption and Reconciliation
Penitence and Deprecation
Needs and Devotions
Holy Aspirations
Approach to God
Gifts of Grace
Service and Ministry
Valediction
A Week’s Shared Prayers
Sovereign Grace Music has produced an album of songs inspired by some of the prayers in The Valley of Vision. Regarding the collection they say,
"These prayers reveal a personal, humble, passionate relationship with an awesome God, a living Savior, and an active Spirit. Reading their meditations inspires us to pursue the same level of reality as we worship God."
There’s not much else I feel needs to be said about this book; instead I’d just like to share a few of my favorite passages to give you a little sampling of the gems contained in it. This brief excerpt reminds us how the persons of the Trinity work together to bring about salvation, and that it is indeed a miraculous, supernatural work of our God:
"No human mind could conceive or invent the gospel…
Blessed be thou, O Father, for contriving this way,
Eternal thanks to thee, O Lamb of God, for opening this way,
Praise everlasting to thee, O Holy Spirit, for applying this way to my heart."
Of course the work of God doesn’t stop at conversion. The Lord Jesus is with us to provide all that we need as we look to Him daily, as these words of prayer express:
"[Father,] Thou hast given me a Saviour, produce in me a faith to live by him, to make him all my desire, all my hope, all my glory.
May I enter him as my refuge,
build on him as my foundation,
walk in him as my way,
follow him as my guide,
conform to him as my example,
receive his instructions as my prophet,
rely on his intercession as my high priest,
obey him as my king."
This next passage serves as a wonderful reminder of why we should never base our assurance of salvation on our feelings:
"It is not feeling the Spirit that proves my saved state, but the truth of what Christ did perfectly for me…It is not inner sensation that makes Christ’s death mine, for that may be delusion, being without the Word, but his death apprehended by my faith, and so testified by Word and Spirit."
I could continue to share more beautiful passages from this collection, but instead I would invite you to explore and experience the richness of The Valley of Vision for yourself.
The prayers in this collection highlight such doctrinal truths as the roles of the persons of the Trinity, the sovereignty of God in salvation, the importance of mortifying sin, the attributes of God, the atoning work of Christ on the cross, and the sanctifying work of the Holy Spirit in the life of the believer.
The poems express thoughts of praise and thanksgiving, encouragement, comfort, humility and repentance. Unlike much of what is written for Christians these days, these passages rightly elevate God’s Word and works and the person of the Lord Jesus Christ, and keep a proper perspective of man and his dependence on the Lord for all he is and has.
The title of the collection was taken from Isaiah 22 and was the inspiration for this introductory prayer by Bennett:
"Lord, High and Holy, Meek and Lowly,
"Thou hast brought me to the valley of vision, where I live in the depths but see thee in the heights; hemmed in by mountains of sin I behold thy glory.
Let me learn by paradox,
that the way down is the way up,
that to be low is to be high,
that the broken heart is the healed heart,
that the contrite spirit is the rejoicing spirit,
that the repenting soul is the victorious soul,
that to have nothing is to possess all,
that to bear the cross is to wear the crown,
that to give is to receive,
that the valley is the place of vision.
Lord, in the daytime stars can be seen from deepest wells,
and the deeper the wells the brighter thy stars shine;
Let me find thy light in my darkness,
thy life in my death,
thy joy in my sorrow,
thy grace in my sin,
thy riches in my poverty,
thy glory in my valley."
The prayers have been organized topically in sections under the following headings:
Father, Son and Holy Spirit
Redemption and Reconciliation
Penitence and Deprecation
Needs and Devotions
Holy Aspirations
Approach to God
Gifts of Grace
Service and Ministry
Valediction
A Week’s Shared Prayers
Sovereign Grace Music has produced an album of songs inspired by some of the prayers in The Valley of Vision. Regarding the collection they say,
"These prayers reveal a personal, humble, passionate relationship with an awesome God, a living Savior, and an active Spirit. Reading their meditations inspires us to pursue the same level of reality as we worship God."
There’s not much else I feel needs to be said about this book; instead I’d just like to share a few of my favorite passages to give you a little sampling of the gems contained in it. This brief excerpt reminds us how the persons of the Trinity work together to bring about salvation, and that it is indeed a miraculous, supernatural work of our God:
"No human mind could conceive or invent the gospel…
Blessed be thou, O Father, for contriving this way,
Eternal thanks to thee, O Lamb of God, for opening this way,
Praise everlasting to thee, O Holy Spirit, for applying this way to my heart."
Of course the work of God doesn’t stop at conversion. The Lord Jesus is with us to provide all that we need as we look to Him daily, as these words of prayer express:
"[Father,] Thou hast given me a Saviour, produce in me a faith to live by him, to make him all my desire, all my hope, all my glory.
May I enter him as my refuge,
build on him as my foundation,
walk in him as my way,
follow him as my guide,
conform to him as my example,
receive his instructions as my prophet,
rely on his intercession as my high priest,
obey him as my king."
This next passage serves as a wonderful reminder of why we should never base our assurance of salvation on our feelings:
"It is not feeling the Spirit that proves my saved state, but the truth of what Christ did perfectly for me…It is not inner sensation that makes Christ’s death mine, for that may be delusion, being without the Word, but his death apprehended by my faith, and so testified by Word and Spirit."
I could continue to share more beautiful passages from this collection, but instead I would invite you to explore and experience the richness of The Valley of Vision for yourself.
March 17, 2024
My second complete read-through. Absolutely excellent!!
November 9, 2022
Really really helpful - had to swap the order around so as not to get bogged down in the "woe is me" prayers in the middle, but overall a really instructive and uplifting resource I expect I'll come back to often.
January 27, 2021
Como un vaso fresco en medio de un desierto. Oraciones que te llevan a meditar en las Escrituras, y a anhelar vivir para la Gloria de Dios.
July 19, 2015
Good. First read it in 2002. Listened to an audio version of it narrated by Max McLean in 2015. That was good too. McLean's reading is good, although it sometimes borders on creepy. The Puritans represented are really solid. Their prayers sometimes veered into the predictably puritanical introspection, but there were many glorious stretches where they were doing nothing of the kind. There were many edifying phrases.
October 4, 2021
Compiled and crafted by Arthur Bennett (1915-1994), an Anglican minister, this is a masterpiece of Puritan prayers. Bennett's poetic renderings of these prayers are a window into Puritan spirituality and are a tool to deepen our own walk with God.
March 9, 2023
A book full of amazing prayers that have so much depth!! Loved it!
August 24, 2021
Finished reading these prayers almost daily as part of my daily devotions.
It has been helpful guidance to my own prayer life. Many challenge me to have deeper thoughts of God's glory and goodness, in addition to truer examination of my own sinfulness.
It has been helpful guidance to my own prayer life. Many challenge me to have deeper thoughts of God's glory and goodness, in addition to truer examination of my own sinfulness.
December 28, 2009
This is a collection of prayers and meditations which the editor gleaned from Puritan writings. I picked this one up because I was doing a year-long study on prayer and was told this book contained good examples of prayers. The person who told me this was not wrong.
The language used by the writers of these prayers was beautiful and gave me much to think on. In addition, I gathered many examples of how to incorporate Scripture into my prayer life.
If you too are looking for ways to enhance your prayer life, I highly recommend this book.
The language used by the writers of these prayers was beautiful and gave me much to think on. In addition, I gathered many examples of how to incorporate Scripture into my prayer life.
If you too are looking for ways to enhance your prayer life, I highly recommend this book.
April 26, 2020
This was my fifth time all the way through this wonderful collection of prayers. Convicting, soul-stirring, edifying, helpful.
September 27, 2020
Finished this again, this time as an aid to family worship prayer time and it truly is a well-rounded pattern to some very topical prayers. Highly beneficial.
December 9, 2021
Que joia preciosa é este livro. Este é um daqueles que vou revisitar algumas vezes…
August 29, 2012
This little book is so incredibly helpful when the rivers of prayer run dry ....which in my case so often do. This inspiring book doesn't merely touch the heart, it scrapes it out, revealing the evil motives that lurk within, shining the light on our perpetual inconsistencies. Valley of Vision is just that, it speaks to you in the valley & most certainly gives clarity to your spiritual vision. There's a good reason this book is still around & will be for a long time to come!
May 25, 2018
I'm not sure if there is a more beautiful book of poetry in existance. The out pouring of love, adoration, begging for mercy, prayer for every element of life, brutal honesty found in these verses is enough to bring a sinner to tears. The praise of the Lord is uplifting. I found the whole thing to be both convicting and enriching of my prayer life. I can't recommend this book enough. Let it infuse your study time.
March 19, 2013
Even though this is in my "read" section, it is a book that can be read over and over again. These prayers focus my own prayers heavenward and really give me a vision to see how to pray and what to pray. High recommended!
December 7, 2022
I read through these Puritan-style prayers every night with my wife after reading our Bible. The prayers frame a diverse prayer life and a broad spectrum of biblical themes. They were heart-warming and devotional, and I encourage more prayer like this in our churches today.
September 9, 2019
Started this on New Year's Eve. I read the sections wildly out of order but appreciated the thoughtful praises, repentance, and supplications for morning prayers. Definitely want to read again.
September 2, 2020
Highest Recommendation. Every Christian will benefit from this. I read one prayer daily and use them to inform my public prayers.
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