The Diary and Journal of David Brainerd (1718-1747) is of much more than merely historical interest. The first internationally recognized biography to be printed in America, the first full missionary biography ever to be published, it has had a profound impact on successive generations of Christians around the world. Few books have done so much to promote prayer and missionary action as the Life of Brainerd, and it is not without good reason that it has remained in print since the great New England pastor and theologian Jonathan Edwards first published it in 1749. Between 1742 and his death in 1747 David Brainerd took the gospel to the North American Indians in New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Massachusetts. He willingly ran any risk and accepted any hardship to fulfill his calling as a missionary. The amount of work which he achieved in such unpromising and difficult circumstances now seems almost incredible. His total dedication to the cause of making Christ known inspired the finest of missionaries who followed in his footsteps: William Carey, who loved Brainerd's writings, confessed, 'I was much humbled today by reading Brainerd. O, what a disparity betwixt me and him! He always constant; I as inconstant as the wind.' Henry Martyn said of Brainerd, "Oh! blessed be the memory of that beloved saint! No uninspired writer ever did me so much good.' Today his life continues to minister encouragement to the servants of God, as John Piper testifies, 'for me... Brainerd's life is a vivid, powerful testimony to the truth that God can and does use weak, sick, discouraged, beat-down, lonely, struggling saints, who cry to him day and night, to accomplish amazing things for his glory.'
