Talking with Your Father
Prayer is intentionally communicating your heart to God. God speaks to us through His Word, and we speak to Him through prayer. You do not need a special language, a holy place, or years of practice. If you have trusted Christ, the God who made the heavens is your Father, and He wants to hear from you.
Intentionally communicating your heart to God: worshiping Him, confessing sin, giving thanks, and asking for what we and others need, with our desires brought under His will and His glory.
Jesus told His disciples to begin with two words that change everything: Our Father (Matthew 6:9). Many of us treat prayer in ways that miss what those words mean. For some, prayer is like jumper cables, left in the trunk until an emergency. For others, it is a list handed to Santa Claus. Prayer is neither one. It is not a way to get God to agree with us or to supply what we selfishly want. In prayer we affirm that God is sovereign, righteous, and majestic, and we bring our desires in line with His will. It humbles us, because every honest prayer admits that we need the Lord.
“Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God. And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.”PHILIPPIANS 4:6–7 · KJV
Notice how wide Paul's words are: in every thing. Nothing is too large for God, and nothing is too small to mention to Him. Notice also what Paul promises. He does not say you will receive all you ask. He says the peace of God will keep your heart and mind. Peace is more than the absence of trials. Peace is the presence of God, and we find it when we bring Him what weighs on us.
Jesus gave few rules for prayer. His teaching comes down to three: keep it honest, keep it simple, and keep it up.
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For Deeper Study
- Prayer: Asking and ReceivingAmazon John R. RiceA warm, urgent classic (first published in 1942) by an independent Baptist evangelist.
- Praying the BibleAmazon Donald S. WhitneyA short, practical guide to praying through the Psalms. Whitney is a Calvinistic Baptist, and we differ on election.
- A Call to Spiritual ReformationAmazon D. A. CarsonLessons from the prayers of Paul, from a Reformed Baptist scholar. We differ on election.
- Power Through PrayerAmazon E. M. BoundsA brief classic on the praying life, written for preachers by a Methodist minister of the 1800s.
- Foxe's Book of MartyrsAmazon John FoxeThe classic Protestant record of those who died for the faith, from the early church to the English Reformation.
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The Spirit Glorifies Christ
The Holy Spirit is fully God and a divine person, and His chosen ministry is to glorify Christ, guide into truth, convict the world, and teach, so a Spirit-filled life is a Christ-centered life.
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