Taking Hold of God: Reformed and Puritan Perspectives on Prayer
Overview
In Taking Hold of God, you will enter the treasury of the church of Jesus Christ and discover some of its most valuable gems on the subject of Christian prayer. The writings of the Reformers and Puritans shine with the glory of God in Christ, offering us much wisdom and insight today that can make our own prayer lives more informed, more extensive, more fervent, and more effectual. Six contemporary scholars explore the writings and prayer lives of several Reformers and Puritans—among them Martin Luther, John Calvin, William Perkins, Matthew Henry, and Jonathan Edwards—guiding us to growth in prayer and a more grateful communion with God.
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- Explores the writings and prayer lives of several Reformers and Puritans
- Offers wisdom and insight for more effectual prayers
- Guides readers to a more grateful communion with God
Top Highlights
“The second rule is a heartfelt sense of need and repentance” (Page 34)
“Prayer includes every pursuit of the soul, in meditation, reading, listening, [and] praying.’2” (Page 1)
“The third rule is to have a heartfelt sense of humility and trust in God” (Page 34)
“ final rule is to have a heartfelt sense of confident hope” (Page 35)
“The sin of prayerlessness is not less sinful than the sin of theft. They incur the same guilt, for they both violate God’s sacred law.” (Page 47)
Many of us feel either infants in the school of prayer or intimidated and beaten down by those who accuse us of being prayer-less but do not teach us how to be prayer-full. But here can be found nourishment, example, instruction, encouragement, and, yes, deep challenge, all in one volume. May these pages serve as a tonic for our weakness, a remedy for our sickness, and an inspiration to greater prayerfulness in our churches!
—Sinclair B. Ferguson, senior minister, First Presbyterian Church of Columbia, SC, and professor of systematic theology, Redeemer Theological Seminary, TX
Here is a master stroke indeed!—a book on the prayer-filled lives and teaching of nine masters of the Christian life (plus others included for good measure).
—Richard D. Phillips, senior minister, Second Presbyterian Church of Greenville, SC
Taking Hold of God is a veritable gold mine on the subject of prayer. Beeke and Najapfour have brought together in one volume the teaching on prayer of the giants of the Reformation and Puritan eras: Luther, Calvin, Knox, Perkins, Bunyan, Henry, Edwards, and others. I was personally encouraged and stimulated to take my own prayer life to a higher and hopefully more productive level. All believers who have any desire to pray effectively will profit from this book.
—Jerry Bridges, author, The Pursuit of Holiness
Here is a great vault of spiritual riches for anyone who wants to learn more about prayer and be encouraged to pray whether you consider yourself Reformed or a student of the Puritans or not. But if some of the names in the table of contents are already favorites of yours, you will enjoy this book even more. This is a valuable book, and I am very grateful for those whose work made it possible.
—Don Whitney, associate professor of biblical spirituality, The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary
- Title: Taking Hold of God: Reformed and Puritan Perspectives on Prayer
- Authors: Joel Beeke, Brian G. Najapfour
- Publisher: Reformation Heritage
- Print Publication Date: 2011
- Logos Release Date: 2014
- Pages: 267
- Language: English
- Resources: 1
- Format: Digital › Logos Research Edition
- Subjects: Prayer › Reformed Church--History; Reformed Church › Doctrines--History; Prayer › Puritans--History; Puritans › Doctrines--History
- ISBNs: 9781601781208, 1601781202
- Resource ID: LLS:TAKINGHOLDOFGOD
- Resource Type: Monograph
- Metadata Last Updated: 2022-09-30T03:16:38Z
Brian G. Najapfour, a pastor from the Philippines, is a recent graduate from Puritan Reformed Theological Seminary (ThM) and is a PhD student at Southern Baptist Theological Seminary.
Joel R. Beeke is president and professor of systematic theology and homiletics at Puritan Reformed Theological Seminary, pastor of the Heritage Netherlands Reformed Congregation in Grand Rapids, Michigan, editorial director of Reformation Heritage Books, and editor of the Banner of Sovereign Grace Truth. He has written, coauthored, or edited over 70 books.
Reviews
3 ratings
Stephen Brown
9/1/2023
Patrick
2/22/2022
In my neverending quest to become better at prayer who else should I turn to but to the Reformers, the Puritans, and Joel Beeke? A book that is well researched and structured with only a few hiccups. Taking many resources and boiling them down to this one topic had to be an endeavor and shows why there are so many co-authors here. With an encouraging and good gut-punching ending this was a good overview on prayer. Covering Martin Luther, John Calvin, John Knox, William Perkins, Anthony Burgess, John Bunyan, Matthew Henry, Thomas Boston, Jonathan Edwards, and then a spattering of other Reformers and Puritans each author takes his theologian and structures the writing on a particular topic. Where Luthor, Calvin, and Knox get to introduce prayer and hit it from many angles, others get a different approach. Perkins has the Lord's Prayer, Burgess and Bunyan have the prayers of the Son & the Spirit. Henry has the form on how to pray. Boston on the personalness of prayer. Edwards has prayer to a Triune God. The last two chapters cover how many theologians prayed for evangelism and a general call to seek out prayer. The book starts off really strong with the first three theologians getting a lot of territory on the subject. Perkins' Lord's Prayer portion feels a little removed as it doesn't quite get into the practical perspective for the reader but there is a great read just on his thoughts and personal application can be had with the material if one were to do so on their own. Honestly, the weakest inclusion here is Edwards. While Edwards didn't write specifically on prayer, it's not as if he didn't talk about it. However, his inclusion here feels like they needed to include something by the Master Edwards. Not that it isn't informative but it could have been left out. The last chapter really stands out as someone who appreciates a book on an application of theology to punch me in the gut and challenge me through ridicule, threat, and benefits this had a good "ow!" factor that I appreciated. The book is well-cited as well so further reading can be done and is a good introduction to who the big Reformed/Puritan names are. It didn't answer all my questions I wanted answered but it did a really good job of doing exactly what you want this book to do - drive you to pray, pray more, or get serious about prayer. Final Grace - A-joe_bourne1951@hotmail.com
4/2/2019
