John Bunyan and his wife married in 1648 in a simple service befitting those who were poor. Mrs. Bunyan (history does not record her first name) had two books in her possession that she inherited from her father. One was titled The Practice of Piety, Directing a Christian how to Walk, That He May Please God. She urged John to read it, but he kept putting it off. When he finally read this classic treatise on spiritual life, it awakened John, leading to his conversion. His subsequent allegory of the Christian life, The Pilgrim’s Progress, remains one of the best-known and most widely read books of all time.
The author of The Practice of Piety, Lewis Bayly (1545-1631), was an English Puritan who didn’t take kindly to the king’s edict that pastors read from The Book of Sports in Sunday worship. King James listed “archery, dancing, leaping and vaulting” as permissible recreations on the Sabbath. Lewis defied the order, which promptly landed him in jail. He was later released, but it was not the last time he would be jailed for defying the king. The Practice of Piety was originally a series of sermons Lewis delivered on practical Christian living. He offers guidance on spiritual practices such as prayer, Scripture meditation, and worship. His closing chapters suggest ways of “setting one’s house in order” and “consolations from the fear of death.” It quickly became the most popular book in England and reached eighty-four editions by 1821. He wrote several morning and evening prayers, such as this “brief prayer for the morning.”