Matthew Henry’s “Method of Prayer”
main website
Matthew Henry’s book, Method of Prayer, is renowned as a superb book to help prayer lives. Excitingly, Ligon Duncan (and some others) have revised the text so that it is in our modern language, but without impacting the power of the book.
You can read the whole book at the beautifully designed website, or alternatively sign up to a daily email that will walk you through the book. I’ve signed up for the email, and it is very well organized too. The book has not been simply cut up chronologically but each week you will be reading parts from different chapters. It takes about half a year to read the book via email.
You can choose to read the bible verses that Matthew Henry quotes either in the ESV, NIV, NASB or KJV. Also, the book has been translated into Spanish, and will soon be available in German, Korean, French, Madarin, Portuguese, Russian, Arabic and Farsi.
Here is the list of contents of the book, which gives a feel for the topics covered:
- Adoration
- Confession
- Petition
- Thanksgiving
- Intercession
- Conclusion
- Lord’s Prayer
- Occasional Addresses
- Short Forms of Prayer
Here are some quotes about the website/book:
John MacArthur
“It’s good to see this classic on prayer in an accessible edition. Ligon Duncan has done brilliant work, adapting Matthew Henry for twenty-first century readers without sacrificing any of the depth and devotional value of the original Puritan work.”Thabiti Anyabwile
“Teach us to pray, Lord.” That wise request has been answered through the centuries both through the word of God and through the example of praying saints…Henry’s life and ministry make it clear that he was a man of prayer; and through this website, his example is still helping the church.
This will definitely be a great help. I have heard so much about it and hoping to benefit from the reading. thanks