Word of Encouragement (10/28/2020)

We said yesterday that the way God works in us to grow in holiness is through the means of grace. The first one we are going to talk about is prayer.

Today, I’d like to share with you an extensive quote from the book because it is such a beautiful description of the gift of prayer. Tomorrow, we will talk about why it is so difficult to pray and how we should address that problem.

“Strictly speaking, praying is not difficult to master, for even a child can ask, seek, and knock. Praying is not difficult to do, either, for it can be done without hands, eyes, or even words. The place for prayer is not difficult to find, for prayer can be done anywhere. Neither is it difficult to find time for prayer, for a prayer can be as short as a single cry.

“Indeed, the beauty of prayer is that we can give ourselves to it anywhere, anytime, and for any length of time. We can pray with our thoughts as well as our words; we can pray while engaging with others as well as in a moment of solitude. When we cannot be at church, we can still pray. When we are hindered from reading, we can still pray. When the public means of grace are denied us, we can still pray. When our eyes, hands, legs, and even our words fail us, we can still pray. There is no unfit season or place for heartfelt prayer to God. It should not surprise us, then, that no spiritual duty promises as much profit as prayer. Indeed, God has attached the most promises to prayer. He promises to turn our hearts toward prayer, to help us pray, to hear our prayers, to answer our prayers, and to grow us in grace in prayer” (pp. 145-146).

Isn’t this wonderful? Don’t these words take away all the excuses we have for not praying? I hope these words stir up your heart to start praying, even if just for a short time, and often throughout the day, and wherever you may be!