David Brainerd (1718–1747)

Prior to picking up David Brainerd’s Personal Testimony, I knew that David Brainerd had written a journal. I’d even consigned it to my enormous ‘to-read’ list. And then I forgot about it. When I saw this book for $ .39 at a Goodwill, I purchased it thinking, David Brainerd was the person who evangelized Indians in the 1730s, right? Right.

David Brainerd’s Personal Testimony contains selections from his Journal and Diary. As such, it did not present the full story of Brainerd’s show more relationship with God. But it presented enough of it for me to be awed.

Walter Searle, the editor, specifically chose material from Brainerd’s Journal which he felt would best encourage Christians in their prayer life. So, most of the entries spoke of prayer, rather than Brainerd’s life. But by reading his prayers, Brainerd’s heart and life are laid bare. His many cries for the souls of the heathen and the advancement of Christ’s kingdom proved how genuinely he desired these things.

Strangely enough, I found myself encouraged not only when Brainerd wrote of his success in prayer, but also when he wrote of his discouragement and doubts. Why did I find consolation in this? Because it showed me that I am not alone in doubting my motives before God, in struggling constantly with my hypocrisy, and in despairing over the hardness of my heart. When I say that I was encouraged, I do not mean that I was reaffirmed in my weakness. I mean that it reminded me that these feelings do not mean that I am not in fellowship with God. What they mean is that I am engaged in the great battle. It is a battle that has been fought by many before me, and knowing this encouraged me to come before God with more boldness, decrying my own sinfulness, and praying for God’s righteousness to fill the earth, beginning with me.

More than anything, David Brainerd’s Personal Testimony encouraged me towards two things. One, to pray more frequently and with more fervency. Two, to find a copy of David Brainerd’s complete journal.

Conclusion. A sober, edifying read, David Brainerd’s Personal Testimony will encourage Christians to be more genuine in their relationship to God and, especially, to pray more fervently.

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This book brings together in a devotional guide forty brief passages from David Brainerd's writing. Each is followed by a prayer which helps the reader grasp the profound implications of Brainerd's thoughts for life today. "Let every preacher read carefully over the life of David Brainerd. Let us be followers of him, as he was of Christ, in absolute self-devotion, in total deafness to the world and in fervent love to God and man."