Philippians 4:6 calls us to be anxious for nothing, but with prayer and thanksgiving to bring everything to God and God’s peace will guard our hearts and minds. Robert Leighton suggests that we are lying to God in prayer if we don’t rely on him afterwards. Prayer is thus putting our faith in God.
Paul who knew the secret of contentment in all circumstances, good and bad, assured the Philippians in 4:19, “And my God shall supply every need of yours according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus.” Paul had learned through prayer to lean on heaven’s infinite resources. Andrew Murray explains it this way, “The great thing in prayer is to feel that we are putting our supplications into the bosom of omnipotent love.”
Prayer is not just about unlocking the power and provisions of our omnipotent God. It’s ultimately about connecting intimately to the God who loves us dearly, gave us His Son, and will withhold nothing from us. It’s resting in His bosom.
Mysteriously, by God’s doing, prayer joins us to Him, to enjoy the love of the Father, the grace of the Son, and the comfort of the Holy Spirit. In prayer, we are empowered by God the Holy Spirit, grounded in God the Son’s merits, thus giving glory to God the Father. Prayer is experiencing God in all His fullness. It’s growing into Him, to know, love and trust Him. Prayer empowers our faith.
How then do we pray?
The Lord has taught us in the Lord’s Prayer to begin by first acknowledging God as our Heavenly Father. Prayer means running to God as children run to their parents. Prayer is desiring God, entering His presence, and seeking first His will while trusting Him for our basic needs. It’s recognising our need for rescue from our fallenness, our sin, and the evil one. Prayer is also learning to love those we can’t love and forgive those we can’t forgive. Prayer is looking to Christ, our eternal hope and everlasting home.
So begin to pray if you have not. Pray about your prayer life. Cut your time on the internet. Begin here. Use the Lord’s prayer as your guide. Pause at each phrase of the Lord’s Prayer and allow Him to bring concerns to mind for prayer. Start now. Talk to God where you are, while you travel between places, at meals, when you wake up, when you lie down, and before you make any other appointments. Pray.