Resources to Help You Meditate
Resources to Help You Meditate
What Makes Christian Prayer Christian?
A Description of Christian Prayer
Nothing is more characteristic of the child of God than that he prays to God (Rom. 8:15; Gal. 4:6). Prayer should be as natural to the regenerate soul as breathing is to a living body. When the Lord told Ananias that Saul of Tarsus had been converted, he said, “Behold, he prayeth” (Acts 9:11). J. C. Ryle said, “A habit of prayer is one of the surest marks of a true Christian.”1
Prayer is a “necessary” part of the Christian life, as the Heidelberg Catechism reminds us, “because God will give His grace and Holy Spirit to those only, who with sincere desires continually ask them of Him, and are thankful for them.”2
What is Christian prayer? The Baptist Catechism says, “Prayer is an offering up of our desires to God, by the assistance of the Holy Spirit for things agreeable to His will, in the name of Christ, believing; with confession of our sins and thankful acknowledgment of His mercies.”3 David says, “Trust in him at all times; ye people, pour out your heart before him: God is a refuge for us” (Ps. 62:8). Christian prayer is possible only by the power of the Holy Spirit (Gal. 4:6).
Christ taught his disciples to pray in his name (John 14:13–14; 16:24). That means, as the Westminster Larger Catechism says, “to ask mercy for his sake; not by bare mentioning of his name, but by drawing our encouragement to pray, and our boldness, strength, and hope of acceptance in prayer, from Christ and his mediation.”4
Essentials of Reformed Systematic Theology
Joel R. Beeke, Paul M. Smalley
Written by Joel R. Beeke and Paul M. Smalley, this abridged guide combines content from all 4 volumes of Reformed Systematic Theology, making deep Scripture study accessible to a wider audience.
John says, “This is the confidence that we have in him, that, if we ask any thing according to his will, he heareth us” (1 John 5:14). In the Lord’s Prayer, Christ has given us directions for praying according to God’s will (Matt. 6:9–13).
Christians are to confess their sins to God, for “if we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins” (1 John 1:9). And they should thank him for his good gifts. Paul says, “Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God” (Phil. 4:6 ESV).
An Exhortation to Prayerful Praying
Alexander Ross said, “A man may pray with his lips and yet not pray with an intense desire of the soul.”5 We might call this prayerless praying. By contrast, James says that Elijah “prayed earnestly” (James 5:17)—literally he “prayed in his prayer” (KJV mg.). This could be called prayerful praying.
Is your prayer life a missile that shatters satanic powers or is it like a harmless toy that Satan sleeps beside? We are often more concerned about what our listeners think of our words than the quality of our communication with God. Where is our prayerful passion for the presence of God? We must go beyond complaining about our weak prayers and repent of our coldness. We must confess our prayerless praying to God and plead for the renewal of our souls. Prayer is the thermometer of our souls. Let us then take practical steps toward prayerful praying.
Remember the value of prayer. Daniel was ready to die rather than give up prayer (Dan. 6:6–10). Appreciate the value of prayer, even if unanswered, as a means of communing with God. Maintain the priority of prayer. Watch and pray “with all perseverance” (Eph. 6:18).
Keep a blood-washed conscience for boldness in prayer. Go quickly to Jesus Christ as soon as your conscience smites you. Find cleansing, forgiveness, and liberty in his blood to draw near to God (Eph. 3:12; Heb. 9:14; 10:19). Speak with sincerity in prayer. To pray with your mouth what is not truly in your heart is hypocrisy (Isa. 29:13). It would be better to confess the coldness of your heart and cry out for heartwarming grace.
Keep a blood-washed conscience for boldness in prayer.
Cultivate a spirit of continual prayer. Paul says, “Pray without ceasing” (1 Thess. 5:17). Keep set times of prayer with others (Acts 3:1) and private devotions (Matt. 6:6). Develop a habit of regularly shooting short prayers up to heaven (Neh. 2:4). Pray for many people and churches, as the apostle Paul calls for “supplication for all saints” (Eph 6:18).
Read the Bible for prayer and pray the Bible to God. Christ says, “If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you” (John 15:7). Use variety in prayer: praise, confession, lamentation, petition, thanks, and intercession for others.
Believe that God answers the prayers of his children. Faith in God is essential to answered prayer (Mark 11:22–24; James 1:5–6). Wrestle with God until he blesses you (Gen. 32:24–30). When you pray, meditate on the gospel of Christ. Paul says, “For through him we both have access by one Spirit unto the Father” (Eph. 2:18). May it not be said of us that “there is none that calleth upon thy name, that stirreth up himself to take hold of thee” (Isa. 64:7).
Notes:
- J. C. Ryle, Home Truths, 4th ed. (Ipswich, England: William Hunt, 1859), 2:106.
- The Heidelberg Catechism (LD 45, Q. 116), in TFU, 110.
- The Baptist Catechism (Q. 105), in RC, 4:587. Cf. the Westminster Shorter Catechism (Q. 98) and Larger Catechism (Q. 178), in RC, 4:347, 367.
- The Westminster Larger Catechism (Q. 180), in RC, 4:347.
- Alexander Ross, The Epistles of James and John, The New International Commentary on the New Testament (Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 1954), 102.
This article is adapted from Essentials of Reformed Systematic Theology by Joel R. Beeke and Paul M. Smalley.
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