In a recent Bible daily reading, I came across this definition of prayer by the 19th century preacher F.W. Robertson (and no, I hadn’t heard of him either!). “It is to connect every thought with the thought of God, to look on everything as His work and His appointment, to submit every thought, wish, and resolve to Him to feel His presence so that it shall restrain us even in our wildest joy.” The writer, who quoted these words added, “But a simpler definition of prayer is simply to ask”.
Another, much simpler comment about prayer is, “The secret of successful prayer is submission” presumably based on the attitude of Jesus when in the Garden of Gethsemane he prayed, (Matthew 26:39 and 42) “My Father if it is possible, may this cup be taken from me. Yet not as I will, but as you will.” This is also an example of Jesus demonstrating the guidelines he taught his disciples in what is known as the Lord’s Prayer, though this description would be better applied to John 17.
The hymn, Prayer is the soul’s sincere desire, by James Montgomery (1771-1854) concludes with the words –
O thou by whom we come to God
The Life, the Truth, the Way
The path of prayer thyself hast trod
Lord, teach us how to pray.
One of my most memorable experiences of prayer was, as a young teenager, sitting in a room with my father and an elder of the church, just before an evening service. The elder, a man with a wonderful sense of humour, was praying and his words were so intimate with God that I had to open my eyes to see if God was sitting next to him. As I recall that incident from many years ago, I often adapt the words to say, “Lord, teach me how to pray”.