There was a profound simplicity about the best that William Barclay wrote, and that best includes his Daily Study Bible and his prayers. Some prayers were written for private use, some for use in public, particularly with young people, but so personal was the stamp he put on them, that it is usually difficult to tell which are which. This Barclay Prayer Book contains prayers which originally appeared in Prayers for the Christian Year and Epilogues and Prayers, both no longer available.They were written almost forty years ago, but are still as fresh as ever - with one slight exception. Particularly since 1978, when William Barclay died, we have become very aware of the way in which language and prayer can be sexist, so for this edition all those words and phrases which now seem too masculine, have been lightly revised.Within this volume are the Collects from the Anglican Book of Common Prayer, some of the treasures of the English language. Within it, too, are modern words of the utmost directness, clarity and simplicity which nevertheless avoid that banality which is such a danger in prayer.
This edition comes with a new foreword from Gilleasbuig Macmillan of St Giles Cathedral, Edinburgh, which brings Barclay's prayers alive in the new millennium.
William Barclay was Professor of New Testament in the University of Glasgow.