A Brief Theology of Prayer
Repost as a resource for this past Sunday Seminary on prayer (originally posted Aug. 17, 2009):
“Prayer is communication with God, it’s talking to God. It’s through prayer that we talk, revere, address, repent to, confess our sin to, acknowledge, worship and praise God.” – Pastor Emilio Ramos
We don’t usually record the Sunday Seminary messages, but I was glad Pastor Emilio recorded his small teaching on prayer. It was chalk fun of good, encouraging quotes on prayer, like these:
“God can pick sense out of a confused prayer.” – Richard Sibbes
“In prayer we are instructed more than God.” – Martin Luther
“For a believer not to pray is like a man that leaves treasure buried in the earth after it has been pointed out to him.” – John Calvin
“Praying is the same to the new creature as crying is to the natural. The child is not learned by art or example to cry, but instructed by nature. It comes into the world crying. Prayer is not a lesson got by forms and rules of art; but flowing from principles of new life itself.” – William Gurnall
“Prayer seeks communion with God. To be sure, the praying Christian is transformed. Prayer plunges into agony and soars in ecstasy, but it does not seek the heights or depths of experience. It seeks the Lord.” – Edmund P. Clowney
“[In prayer we have] zealous concerned for His glory and for the accomplishment of His purposes.” – Edmund P. Clowney
“I had rather learn what some men really judge about their own justification from their prayers than from their writings.” - John Owen
“When you pray, rather let your heart be without words than your words without heart.” – John Bunyan
“Prayer will make a man cease from sin, or sin will entice a man to cease from prayer” – John Bunyan
Emilio also made the following points:
- It is our new nature to pray (Rom. 8:15)
- God delights in our prayers (Rev. 5:8 | Rev. 8:3-4 | Ps. 141:2)
- Apostles were devoted to prayer (Acts 2:42 | Acts 6:4)
- The body is to be devoted to prayer (Rom. 12:12 | Eph. 6:18 | Col. 4:2 | 1 Thes. 5:17)
The Nature of Prayer is to be…
- Reverent
- Transparent
Pitfalls to Prayer
- Sin
In case you missed it, you can listen or download the audio (taken from our Special Messages):