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Book review: “The Valley of Vision”
I rarely do this in a book review, but I give five stars to The Valley of Vision: A Collection of Puritan Prayers & Devotions, by Arthur Bennett. A former pastor, Darryl Craft, introduced me to this amazing book of prayers when he quoted it in worship. I decided to buy a copy and spend this year slowly reading them in morning devotions.
To say this is a popular, influential book is an understatement. First published in Edinburgh, Scotland in 1975, it has been through numerous printings in the U.K. and USA. Collected and edited by British author Arthur Bennett, The Valley of Vision contains over 200 prayers of Puritans such as Richard Baxter, David Brainerd, John Bunyan, Isaac Watts, and Charles Spurgeon (whom Bennett calls “the last of the Puritans”). However, Arthur does not identify the authors of the individual prayers. The prayers are grouped by sections under ten subjects such as the Trinity, redemption, penitence, and service. The final section are a collection of morning and evening prayers for each day of the week. These prayers use poetic rhythm and repetition to deliver a powerful emotional punch. For example, the prayer “Spiritus Sanctus” (p. 27) begins, “O Holy Spirit, as the sun is full of light, the ocean full of water, Heaven full of glory, so may my heart be full of thee…” Others use poetic imagery, as the prayer “Humility in Service” (p. 178), which includes the line, “O bury my sins in the ocean of Jesus’ blood…”
Modern readers may find many of the prayers to be extremely self-deprecating and so full of humility that the reader appears too hard on himself. For example, “After Prayer” (p. 150), says, “Let me be as slow to forgive myself as thou art ready to forgive me.” I would question the spiritual healthiness of being slow to forgive oneself. Yet with that caution, modern culture has gone so far in the opposite direction, that most modern Christians could benefit from a healthy dose of feeling the heaviness of sin.
If you want to be inspired to pray with conviction, read this book, but read it slowly, to savor every morsel. Then read it again. That’s what I plan to do.
How to join prayer with Bible reading, using Psalm 119
Article copyright 2017 by Bob Rogers
“I rise before dawn and cry out for help (prayer);
I put my hope in Your word (scripture).” – Psalm 119:147, HCSB
Prayer and daily Bible reading are both stronger if they are done together, as Psalm 119:147 indicates above by listing them together. In fact, one may use key verses from Psalm 119 to prepare the heart before reading scripture, and to reflect in prayer after reading scripture. Here are the verses, all of them from Psalm 119, a psalm that delights in the Word of God. I encourage you to use the first four verses of preparation, to guide a short prayer time before your daily Bible reading. Then read the scripture. After your Bible reading, instead of setting the scripture aside, keep your Bible in front of you as you then pray the last four verses of application.
1) Preparation. Before reading scripture ask God to:
• V. 18 – open my eyes: “Open my eyes so that I may contemplate wonderful things from Your instruction.”
• V. 66- teach me: “Lord… teach me Your statutes.”
• V. 105 – direct me: “Your word is a lamp for my feet and a light on my path.”
• V. 125- give me discernment: “I am Your servant; give me understanding so that I may know Your decrees.”
2) Application. After reading scripture reflect in prayer on:
• V. 11- a sin to confess: “I have treasured Your word in my heart that I may not sin against You.”
• V. 38- a promise to claim: “Confirm what You said to Your servant…”
• V. 60- a command to obey: “I hurried, not hesitating, to keep Your commands.”
• V. 112- a resolution to make: “I am resolved to obey Your statutes to the very end.”
Print this guide and keep it by your Bible, or write this in the margin of your Bible at Psalm 119, and use it daily in reading scripture. May it aid you to engage your heart, mind and will in your daily devotions.
Book review: “Lord, Show Me Your Glory”
I was attending a writer’s conference, and a publisher who was speaking to us said that books often sell well because of marketing and famous authors, not because of the quality of the books. Someone asked the publisher to name a book that did not sell well but was such a quality book that he was glad it was published. The publisher said, “Yes, the book is Lord, Show Me Your Glory by Ethel Herr.”
The book was out of print, so I ordered it from amazon.com. I’m glad that I did.
I spent the year of 2008 going through this devotional. A wonderful journey it was. The book is divided into 52 chapters to be used as 52 weeks of devotions. But each “Week” actually has two or three qualities of God to study, so it really amounts to about two or three devotionals for each week. For example, Week Four is a devotional on God is Carpenter, Potter, and a Working God, Week Twelve is on God as Living Bread and Manna, and Week Twenty is on Discipliner, Teacher/Master and Rabbi. You get the idea.
Herr has a very descriptive writing style. For example, in Week Eleven she describes God’s omniscience by saying, “grace without God’s omniscience would be as elusive as a hollow wind whistling through the broken window panes of an empty church” (p. 72). She also has keen insights into the character of God. In Week Eighteen, she says this about God’s as Resurrection and the Life: “So, when He chooses to let our dreams die so He can give us a resurrection rather than a healing, we sometimes feel abandoned” (p. 114). Each section lists scripture readings for further meditation on that particular quality of God. I found that looking up those scriptures was almost as enriching as the text of her book.
The experience of going through this book will help you understand the character of God in a powerful way. If you are looking for a practical devotional that is all about you and how you live your Christian life, this is not it. But if you are looking for a devotional that will make you forget yourself and will leave you in awe of our wondrous God, bowing before Him in worship, then find a used copy of this rare gem of a book online and order it.
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Devotionals for the New Year
Daily prayer and Bible reading is critical to grow in the Christian life, and a helpful tool is a daily devotional.
Monthly and quarterly devotionals. There are many excellent monthly and quarterly magazines, including the non-denominational publications, Our Daily Bread, The Word for You Today, and Seeds of Hope. Our Daily Bread usually has an interesting illustration for a Biblical truth, and each daily devotion is written by a different author. The Word for You Today, written by Bob Gass of Northern Ireland, makes a practical application to a Biblical truth, often using humor. Seeds of Hope (formerly Seeds from the Sower), written by Michael and Lawrence Guido from Metter, Georgia, often uses humor to share an uplifting thought.
Southern Baptists publish Stand Firm (for men), Journey (for women), and Open Windows (written for all adults, it includes a middle section to pray by name for missionaries on their birthday). United Methodists publish The Upper Room.
Yearly devotional books. However, many people like to get a book with readings for the entire year. If you are shopping for a yearly devotional, the two classic, all-time best, in my opinion, are Experiencing God Day-by-Day, by Henry T. Blackaby and Richard Blackaby, and My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers (I recommend spending a little extra to get the updated edition of Chambers, because his work was originally written in 1917, and the language of the original can be difficult to follow.)
Another excellent classic, Morning and Evening, by Charles Spurgeon, provides readings for morning and evening every day. A Year with C.S. Lewis provides great selections from Lewis’s writings for every day of the year. The Songs of Jesus, by Timothy Keller, has a year of brief, Christ-centered daily devotionals through the Psalms. Keller has also published a new daily devotional on the Proverbs, God’s Wisdom for Navigating Life. The prayers Keller offers are particularly inspiring. All of the above devotionals will cause you to think deeply and inspire you.
Jesus Calling by Sarah Young is an extremely popular devotional that uses the literary device of speaking to the reader as if it is the words of Jesus Himself. The devotionals in Jesus Calling are very brief but quite encouraging, especially to those who need to find peace in their lives. However, the devotional has been criticized because the author claims she received the messages directly from Jesus, and some authors have pointed out minor errors in her book that prove not all messages were directly from God. (For more on this controversy, check the excellent book review by Tim Challies here.) Despite these criticisms, I think her devotional is very helpful, and to her credit, Young includes scripture references at the end of each devotional. Young also has published spin-off devotionals that are similar, such as Dear Jesus. Daily Guideposts, published annually by Guideposts magazine, include many inspiring stories by a different author every day, and while they are well-written, they rarely cause you to think deeply. Voices of the Faithful, edited by Beth Moore, has devotional stories by missionaries. If you are looking for a devotional for married couples, Our Love Is Here to Stay: A Daily Devotional for Couples, by Tony and Lois Evans, is the best one I have read on the subject. It is well-written, interesting, and full of practical wisdom.
Bible reading. Of course, no devotional is a substitute for reading the Bible itself. If you have never read through the Bible, perhaps you could begin with a chapter of the New Testament every weekday, which would get you through the entire New Testament in a year. Or if you are ready to do more, you could add one Psalm a day and read through the Psalms twice in a year. If you read one chapter of Proverbs each day, you will read through the Proverbs in a month. If you wish to read the whole Bible in a year, read about three Old Testament chapters and one New Testament chapters a day. Try something different: A friend of mine says she starts her daily Bible reading in December, rather than January, so that she can read the Gospel of Matthew in the Christmas season. You may also want to consider using a new translation each year, so that you learn fresh insights. The Message and the New Living Translation are easy to read, but are not literal translations. Christian Standard Bible is a new revision of the Holman Christian Standard Bible; the CSB balances accuracy with clarity in reading. The English Standard Version is an accurate, literary translation that follows the traditional wording of scripture.
May God bless you as you dig into His word and seek His heart in prayer!
Bob Rogers 