In the extensive Biblical treasury of prayers to take as examples, the crown jewel is the prayer offered by Jesus in response to His disciples’ request to teach them to pray. Of all the men who have commented on the Lord’s Prayer, hardly any have seen it so clearly and expounded it so affectionately as […]
An Introduction to History’s Greatest Prayer Read More »
C.S. Lewis, Christian thinker and author, wrote much about the Christian life. Prayer, being an integral part of the Christian life, received much of Lewis’s attention. Lewis wrote, in an effort to summarize these purposes, that “Prayer in the sense of petition, asking for things, is a small part of it; confession… [is] its threshold,
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So, prayer is essential, it is sincere communication with God, it has various components, and its basis is the Christian’s adoption; however, prayer is not merely a gift to be taken or left, nor is it a duty that commands ignorant obedience. Prayer has a purpose; there is a reason why it is so important.
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The next component of prayer is supplication: “petitioning [God] for the good things for which we are totally dependent on him.” In Praying with Paul, Don Carson explains that Paul’s supplication was not focused on the things that Christians so often linger on, but on spiritual things; namely, that the Christians whom Paul is praying
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The next component, thanksgiving, is better portrayed by no one — other than the Son — than by Paul. Paul’s prayers are saturated with thanksgiving, especially thanksgiving for God’s grace and the fruit it produces in believers: “We ought always to thank God for you… because your faith is growing more and more, and the
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Prayer typically has several components that make up a Biblical prayer. The Bible portrays each of these components with abundant examples. These components can be thought of as the ingredients of a cake. Most cakes use the same, or similar, ingredients: eggs, flour, sugar, etc. However, there are vegan cakes without eggs, keto cakes without
Adoration in Prayer Read More »
As important as prayer is, the Christian might expect God’s Word to give a clear definition of it. However, and perhaps surprisingly, that is not the case. Many have posited that prayer is something that one must be shown how to do, not taught to define; hence, Christ’s disciples ask Him to show them how
“Prayer and I are all one.” Those are the sincere words of the Puritan minister Thomas Watson as he reflected on what a godly man should be. Watson presents a heart that loves prayer and yearns for communion with God. Yet, Watson was not the first man to express this heart of prayer – surely,
The Primacy of Prayer Read More »