Prayer is an essential practice in the Christian faith. In this blog, Grâce explores what prayer is and the key part that Scriptures play in helping us grow closer to God.
In his book Prayer: awe and intimacy with God, Timothy Keller describes prayer as “continuing a conversation that God has started through His Word and by His grace, which eventually becomes a full encounter with Him.” I love this description of prayer because it highlights the biblical reality that God graciously initiates relationship with us. It also emphasizes the importance of the Word of God in the believer’s prayer life: it is through His Word that God reveals Himself and His will to us, and through prayer that we respond to Him. This beckons us to position ourselves to hear Him and get to know Him through the diligent study of His Word and to respond to Him according to it.
Although there is a space for declaring Scriptures in prayer, it doesn’t mean that our response to God must be Scriptures verbatim. The Bible is full of short and long prayers where men and women in times past have freely responded to God in prayer using their own words and have even relied on biblical truth as a basis for their prayers. And we can do the same. It is a healthy and biblical practice to start by engaging with His Word, which will then guide and inform our response to Him. Because His Word is the truth, it is important to have it as a framework when we thank Him, when we confess our sins and when share with him what we need from Him in prayer (1 John 5:14-15).
Let’s take a look at Philippians 4:6-7 (NIV), which reads:
6 Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. 7 And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
Understanding the passage in its context is a great starting point to tune our ears to hear God initiate the conversation with us through His word. This passage is from an epistle that the apostle Paul penned to the church in Philippi when he was in house arrest in Rome and uncertain about his future. He was thanking them for their support while he was arrested and encouraging them to find their joy and contentment in Christ in any circumstances.
Philippians 4:6-7 deals with the believers’ anxiety and what to do about it. Although originally written to first century Christians, it is still applicable to us today. The sheer thought of the job situation, that relationship, the pending bills, our responsibilities unto others or that promise from God not falling into place has the potential leave us on edge. Can you relate? I sure can. Thankfully, the passage encourages us not to be anxious but to pray in any situation. The implication here (and elsewhere in the Bible, see Matthew 6:25-33, John 14:27) is that God cares about us and our wellbeing and He can do something about what we’re worried about. I would also suggest that in this passage God is initiating the conversation with us by inviting us to talk to Him when we’re anxious.
This passage can shape our response to God in prayer in three ways:
As we let verse 6 guide and shape our prayer, we can rest in the promise of verse 7, that the peace of God that passes all understanding will guard our hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. That peace is the gracious gift of God and a powerful antidote for our anxious minds and hearts.
Keller’s description of prayer also mentioned the grace of God, which is His unmerited, unearned and undeserved favor. It is by His grace that He has created us with the ability to relate to Him and to have conversations with Him. It is also by His grace that He sent His Son Jesus to die as a sacrifice to forgive all our sins, which from the fall of man had jeopardized our relationship with Him (Genesis 3). It is in Jesus that we have access to God and in His name that we pray (Ephesians 2:18, John 16:24). Furthermore, God has gifted every believer with His Holy Spirit whose ministry involves helping us to understand His Word (John 14:26), to pray (Romans 8:26-27) and to move in our behalf (Ephesians 3:20).
In conclusion, God has made every provision for us to be able to have a fruitful prayer life. He has initiated the conversation with us through His Word, He has created us able to communicate with Him, He has reconciled us to Himself through Jesus, His Holy Spirit helps us to pray and He can move powerfully in our behalf.
Let’s hold fast to these truths and take heed to His invitation to have a full encounter with Him through His word and through prayer.
If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you.
John 15:7 (ESV)