The Secret Key to Heaven

The Vital Important of Private Prayer

“The power of religion and godliness lives, thrives, or dies, as closet prayer lives, thrives or dies.”

This was the deeply held conviction of Thomas Brooks, author of this book. As a pastor who knew his people well, Brooks feared that many Christians failed to understand the importance of their private prayer life and that we live in great neglect of this indispensable habit. Focusing on our Lord’s words in Matthew 6, Brooks provides a masterful and practical treatment of this vital point.

Contents

The full Table of Contents is several pages long, so we have listed the chief heads below:

1. The Doctrine of the Text (Matthew 6:6) Stated and Proved
2. Twenty Arguments for Private Prayer
3. The Use and Application of this Doctrine
4. Six Objections Stated and Answered
5. Eleven Instructions Concerning Private Prayer
6. Means, Rules, and Directions for Faithful Private Prayer

Book Review by Paul Brown:

“We can scarcely have too many books on prayer, though sadly it is often easier to read books about prayer than to get down and pray. We all need stirring up to pray and this book helps to do that. As the title with its subtitle indicates, it is primarily about private or personal prayer, but although this is its focus there is much that is applicable to prayer in general. Brooks is noted for his pithy, memorable sentences and I found one phrase particularly striking.

Writing towards the end of the book of Satan’s opposition to secret prayer, and giving reasons for this, he says, ‘partly because secret prayer is so musical and delightful to God’. Whoever would have thought of using the word ‘musical’? This Puritan certainly must have loved music to write in that way, and what a picture it conjures up. Secret prayer is like a lovely song or tune that entrances the ear of God; what an incentive to pray!”