Authors’ Note
Authors’ Note
If you who pick up this book are as curious as we, you may have been intrigued to see that this book has two authors, and you may have wondered about our process of writing. The answer is that J. I. gave a set of talks on prayer that were taped, Carolyn worked on a transcript of what he said, and after a certain amount of to-ing and fro-ing, a text emerged that expressed the mind of both of us. Carolyn then wrote the exercises and devotional aids that follow each chapter; InterVarsity Press copy-edited everything meticulously, as they always do, and the end product is what is now in your hands.
Because J. I.’s talks contained various personal references, and because in any case he has a style of his own, it was early agreed that the best course was to have it all read as if J. I. was speaking, even though we were doing a duet. So, whereas H. G. Wells wrote of the doings of the Invisible Man, here you have the sayings of a rather visible man and an almost invisible woman. J. I., however, wants it known that Carolyn contributed far more than might appear.
It is our hope that, though books on prayer abound, what we say here may be fresh and helpful to some. We do not ask our readers to take on board anything that we do not embrace ourselves, and to that extent we attempted to practice what is taught here before making it public. From our hearts this book comes; to others’ hearts may it go; and for any good that it does, may God be praised.
J. I. Packer
Carolyn Nystrom