“God does nothing but in answer to prayer.” John Wesley
Prayer is the central core of all of the spiritual disciplines. Devotion and practice of the discipline moves us more and more into the state of perpetual communion with the Father that is to mark us as separate from the world. To pray is to change. It is the primary avenue by which the Father molds and transforms us.
A primary truth about the discipline of prayer is that it is both unnatural and natural simultaneously. Putting this discipline into practice requires a concerted effort on the part of the redeemed and a long period of apprenticeship. We must learn from the Master how to pray just as His first disciples did.
One day Jesus was praying in a certain place. When he finished, one of his disciples said to him, “Lord, teach us to pray, just as John taught his disciples.” (Luke 11:1)
The discussion of prayer could take off in so many directions so it will be necessary to limit our attention to a few core topics. This will be a longer series of posts and I hope that some readers will consider the possibility of contributing their own materials so that all of can develop our personal practice of this most important of disciplines.
Image Iulian Nistea