Freedom in the face of God
When I was about to enter the Christian ministry, one vitally important aspect of it was brought to my attention by men who had been engaged in the work for some time: how does the minister structure his public prayers? It is very easy indeed to become repetitive and wearisome in public praying, and neither the pastor nor the congregation will be edified by this. Matthew Henry’s work is a most helpful resource and safeguard for ministers, but it will also be of great use to all Christians who long for more structure in their prayers. It is a manual of prayers, and yet not an ecclesiastical form of set prayers. Every prayer is not only grounded in Scripture, but bursting to the seams with the very words of the Bible; Henry’s blood was as ‘bibline’ as Bunyan’s. Begin to read even the first page and you will begin to wade in depths which are devotionally doctrinal; Matthew Henry’s life of prayerful communion with the God of the whole Bible was the key to his becoming such a mighty and renowned commentator. Ligon Duncan’s updating of the Method of Prayer has been done very sensitively, though I always smile when I read the section about praying for ‘firemen’ and ‘paramedics’ – probably not part of the original version!

Paul Yeulett