Preacher and Prayer: With annotations and guided readings by C. D. Bradley

This book is one of E. M. Bounds’ most powerful books. Though well over a century old, it resonates with the modern preacher/minister in many poignantly relevant ways. Bounds gives many examples of the place of priority prayer held with many of the spiritual leaders of old. Of George Fox, of David Brainerd, of William Booth, etc. Of the Apostle Paul and of Jesus, as well.

Although Jesus and these others were extreme, they didn’t fall prey to the commonly witnessed two extremes of ministry. Namely, isolation and over-engagement with people. Most of us can recall how some ministers, like monks or hermits, isolate themselves in pursuit of God, ultimately failing because their interaction with people fades and ceases being a priority. Conversely, others become so involved in promoting their ministry that their relationship with God quickly takes a back seat.

What was these heroes’ secret? Our Lord’s secret? How did He neither become too engrossed in His studies and preaching, losing touch with the lost sheep of the house of Israel, and also avoid becoming like those who seek to please people to the extent that prayer and personal devotion are neglected?

He was called the friend of tax collectors and sinners. Yet, He frequently went off by Himself to spend time with His father. This private time for communication with God is how he maintained the balance.

It is obvious to me, in today’s day and age, we’d call His ‘balance’ out of balance… The crowds followed him and pressed upon Him continually, even when He sought moments of solace. He spent multiple hours in prayer as well. Rising early, cutting into what many today would call private, ‘me time’. Truly, the preacher must be distinguished as a man of prayer.

When prayer is not a mere addition to the minister’s life but undergirds the very core of their being and ministry, it is a joy and a strength. Some have said, discipline is remembering what you want. When I remember that you and I want to see Jesus glorified in all the Earth, we can prioritize prayer and allow it to shape our lives and preaching. It is an essential, life-giving activity not simply a mere formality, as E. M. Bounds’s Christian classic makes clear. Your whole usefulness depends on this, for your sermons last but an hour or two; your life is preaching all the week.

Edward McKendree Bounds, best known as E. M. Bounds, was an author, attorney, and esteemed minister of the Methodist Episcopal Church South. He is commonly known for writing eleven books, of which nine focused on prayer. Only two of Bounds’ books were published before he died. After his death, Rev. Claudius Lysias Chilton, Jr., the grandson of William Parish Chilton and an admirer of Bounds, worked on preserving and preparing Bounds’ manuscripts for publication. By 1921, Homer W. Hodge had completed additional editorial work. The original work, Preacher and Prayer is in the Public Domain and this version includes insightful annotations and devotional-style readings by C. D. Bradley.