Into His Presence

Having read Arthur Bennett’s The Valley of Vision multiple times, I’ve always hoped someone else would mine the writings of the Puritans for more Scripture-drenched, Christ-exalting, God-glorifying, heartfelt prayers. My wait is over. Tim Chester has produced a volume eminently useful for private devotions, public gatherings and personal reflection. I expect his carefully chosen, thoughtfully organized, and beautifully edited prayers will serve the church for many generations to come.” | These superb prayers model and teach a rich, deep devotion to God— Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Soaked in Scripture, they are wonderfully realistic about the life of faith. From a prayer for unbelieving children to a prayer with a dying Christian, with every style from the gripping logic of John Owen to the passionate warmth of Samuel Rutherford, these old believers walk with us in deepening our own lives of prayer. Tim Chester has done us a great service in editing and updating them so beautifully and clearly. | I greatly appreciate the effort Tim Chester has gone to in this beautiful book, not only to organise and translate the biblically and doctrinally rich words of the Puritans into a language I can pray myself today, but also to note where these exquisite treasures can be found in their original settings. Full of arresting images and comforting truths, this is a precious resource to come back to time and again for spiritual refreshment, pastoral challenge, and pure adoration of our gracious and sovereign God. | These pages are a great gift from Dr Tim Chester to help us ‘to glorify God, and to enjoy him for ever’ and to experience the love of Christ, as Paul says, ‘together with all the saints’. There is something in Into His Presence to help all of us to experience communion with God in every situation of life. Tim Chester has given us a treasure trove. | The apostle Paul wrote that ‘we do not know what to pray for as we should’. All Christians find themselves, from time to time, knowing they need to pray but not knowing how. These prayers, taken from the writings of our brothers and sisters of the past, are a blessed guide to prayer when we lack words of our own. | The Puritans knew their God, not just in their brains, but in the bruises of life’s afflictions, and they sought him with all their hearts. Tim Chester brings us into the Puritans’ prayer closet to learn from their devotion. Some of these selections are Puritan prayers, some are the thoughts and phrases of Puritan teachings freshly woven into prayers, and all are fervent pantings of the soul after the glorious, triune God. | Tim Chester is Lecturer in historical theology and spiritual formation for Crosslands Training and has written over 40 books. He has a PhD in theology and PgDip in history along with 25 years' experience of pastoral ministry. He is married with two grown-up daughters and lives in rural Derbyshire, where he is part of a church plant.