There is a growing segment of Evangelicalism that is aligning more and more with Reformed theology. There is a great book by Collin Hansen on the topic, Young, Restless, Reformed: A Journalist’s Journey with the New Calvinists, that I would recommend if you are intrigued by this. I would count myself in this crowd as I have gone from a semi-Arminian to a 4 (maybe 5) point Calvinist in the last few years.
All of this sets up my interest in a book recommended by a friend from the Austin Stone. The Valley of Vision is a collection of Puritan prayers, mostly from folks I am unfamiliar with (except Spurgeon) that has been quite a blessing to read so far. There are several ways this book has been good for me. First, with the way the prayers are arranged by topic I have been able to use it to think about how to pray on certain topics or issues. By seeing how these Reformed Puritans gave voice to thoughts and worries that I have now, but in a way I would not have instinctively approached them my eyes have really been opened to new ways to approach the Lord in prayer.
Secondly, by looking into the private thoughts and prayers of these fellow Christians from long ago who share large portions of my thelogocal views I have learned alot about the way they saw God, the world and the way to reconcile the two. There is a wealth of information and historical perspective for us as modern day Christians. With all of the challenges we see today, maybe a one way forward is to occasionally look at them through an old lens?
