Theology Thursday
Q. 98. What is prayer?
A. Prayer is an offering up of our desires unto God, for things agreeable to his will, in the name of Christ, with confession of our sins, and thankful acknowledgement of his mercies.
Prayer. It’s one of those areas of the Christian life we kind of take for granted. We know what prayer is right? And yet, knowing what prayer is, we so often ignore it. Prayer is very similar to exercise really. We all know it’s good, but disciplining ourselves to do it - well, that’s a different story.
But the Catechism helpfully reminds us of a few key things about prayer. Prayer is offering up - bringing to God our desires. Prayer is like bringing your petition before a King. In prayer, we stand before the holy throne of God.
The only reason we can stand before Him is because of Jesus. The Holy God cannot have sinners in His presence. Nor will the righteous God hear the desires of the unrighteous. But because we are covered by Jesus perfect blood, as Hebrews 10 says, we can draw near to God with confidence (and hopefully, thankfulness).
But what about ‘for things agreeable to his will’? What does that mean? Well, like any King, we need to remember that God has His own agenda. He is not going to answer prayers that clash or conflict with His will for the world.
Thankfully, we know His will is good - it’s the good of His people and the glory of His Son. And we know that He cares for us like dearly beloved children. Therefore, as faithful citizens and children of God, we can pray in accordance with His will and joyfully witness the answers to our prayers.
For Today:
Pray:
Passages: Matthew 7:7-8, 1 John 1:9 & 5:14, John 16:23-24, Philippians 4:6
A. Prayer is an offering up of our desires unto God, for things agreeable to his will, in the name of Christ, with confession of our sins, and thankful acknowledgement of his mercies.
Prayer. It’s one of those areas of the Christian life we kind of take for granted. We know what prayer is right? And yet, knowing what prayer is, we so often ignore it. Prayer is very similar to exercise really. We all know it’s good, but disciplining ourselves to do it - well, that’s a different story.
But the Catechism helpfully reminds us of a few key things about prayer. Prayer is offering up - bringing to God our desires. Prayer is like bringing your petition before a King. In prayer, we stand before the holy throne of God.
The only reason we can stand before Him is because of Jesus. The Holy God cannot have sinners in His presence. Nor will the righteous God hear the desires of the unrighteous. But because we are covered by Jesus perfect blood, as Hebrews 10 says, we can draw near to God with confidence (and hopefully, thankfulness).
But what about ‘for things agreeable to his will’? What does that mean? Well, like any King, we need to remember that God has His own agenda. He is not going to answer prayers that clash or conflict with His will for the world.
Thankfully, we know His will is good - it’s the good of His people and the glory of His Son. And we know that He cares for us like dearly beloved children. Therefore, as faithful citizens and children of God, we can pray in accordance with His will and joyfully witness the answers to our prayers.
For Today:
- How are you going with prayer? Do you pray regularly?
- How could you pray more?
- How could you pray more in alignment with God’s will?
Pray:
- Praise the Father for His goodness and His will for all things.
- Give thanks for Jesus who entitles us to bring our petitions before the Father.
- Ask God for His Holy Spirit to help you and others pray more and pray in accordance with His will.
Passages: Matthew 7:7-8, 1 John 1:9 & 5:14, John 16:23-24, Philippians 4:6
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