Prayer - Bunyan - III - Chapters 4, 5 & 6

Required reading
Prayer by John Bunyan (Available from Amazon or free here) - Read Chapters 4, 5 & 6.  

My summary
Today in Chapter 4 Bunyan answers questions and objections to his teachings on prayer:
(i) I know not how to pray;
(ii) I can scarce say anything when I try to pray;
(iii) You seem to advocate another way of praying apart from the spirit;
(iv) If I cannot use forms of prayer how can I teach my children to pray;
(v) Jesus taught his disciples a form to pray yet you don't;
(vi) Jesus told men to pray for the Spirit yet you say they cannot pray without the spirit;
(vii) Would you really have none pray but those that are disciples of Christ?

Then in Chapter 5 Bunyan provides:
(i) a word of information about obstructions to prayer;
(ii) a word of encouragement to pray;
(iii) a word of rebuke to those who don't pray, mock prayer by the spirit or blaspheme the Spirit.

What grabbed me
If you thought Bunyan was hard on forms of prayers before, today he really came out punching: 'We ought to prompt one another to prayer, though we ought not to make forms of prayer for each other.  To exhort to pray with Christian direction is one thing, and to make stinted forms for tying up the Spirit of God to them is another thing. The apostle gives Christians no form in which to pray, yet directs to prayer (Ephesians. 6.8; Romans. 15:30-32).  Let no man therefore conclude, that because we may give instructions and directions to pray, therefore it is lawful to make forms of prayer for each other.'

Like one of readers commented last week, I think Bunyan is wrong to be so harsh on written forms of prayers.

I think the Bible encourages praying forms of prayers.  For example it gives us 150 Psalms in the Old Testament and the Lord's prayer in the New Testament all of which can be prayed verbatim and still be prayed with the Spirit who wrote them.

I think we can pray in the Spirit with both forms of prayers AND extempore prayers.

Next week's reading
Commence Section II (Throne of Grace) by reading the Introduction and Chapter 1 and Chapter 2 point 1 (There is a throne of grace).

Now it's your turn
Please post your own notes and thoughts in the comments section below.