The strength of Puritan character and life lay in prayer and meditation. In this practice the spirit of prayer was regarded as of first importance and the best form of prayer, for living prayer is the characteristic of genuine spirituality. Yet prayer is also vocal and may therefore on occasions be written. Consequently in the Puritan tradition there are many written prayers and meditations which constitute an important corpus of inspiring devotional literature. From this source, Arthur Bennett has distilled the essence of many prayers and set out in modern form what he calls "aspiration units, the several parts of which could become springboards for the individual's own prayer subjects." - Back cover.