by David M'Intyre
in .mobi & ePub & .pdf formats
David M’Intyre’s The Hidden Life of Prayer is a richly devotional classic that stands as one of the most soul-searching and practical guides to communion with God in the secret place.
This is not a book to be skimmed. It is a fire that quietly burns in the heart of the serious Christian. M’Intyre's great burden is to awaken the slumbering soul to the vital necessity and glory of private prayer. He begins by reminding us that prayer is not optional—it is the breath of the regenerate, the pulse of the spiritual life. “If you are not a praying person,” M’Intyre, with Bunyan, would say, “you are not a Christian.” And yet, he does not flatter us with shallow encouragement. He takes us into the battlefield of prayer: it is labor, it is wrestling, it is agony. But it is also rapture, vision, and sweet reward. His illustrations—from Brainerd’s bloody sweat to the worn track in Foster’s chapel aisle—are not for the faint of heart. They are meant to rouse the church militant.
Each chapter moves deeper, from the necessity of prayer to the inner sanctuary of communion with God. The imagery is exquisite, the theology rich, and the applications are timeless. He speaks of “the hidden riches of the secret place” and “the open recompense” of divine fellowship. The reader is led to see that God Himself is the reward of prayer—not merely answers, but God. Through structured chapters on preparation, worship, confession, and intercession, M’Intyre offers not a formula but a vision: that of a soul wholly yielded to God, keeping to the Lord’s watch.
For pastors, this book is a rebuke against ministry without unction. For laypeople, it is a call away from mechanical religion and toward a living relationship with the Father through the Son, by the power of the Spirit. This is a volume to return to again and again—to rekindle holy fire in the secret place and to draw near to the God who sees in secret and rewards openly.
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Table of Contents
Chapter 1, The Life of Prayer
Chapter 2, The Equipment
Chapter 3, The Direction of the Mind
Chapter 4, The Engagement: Worship
Chapter 5, The Engagement: Confession
Chapter 6, The Engagement: Request
Chapter 7, The Hidden Riches of the Secret Place
Chapter 8, The Open Recompense
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