Spiritual Disciplines Part I ---- Prayer

On Sunday, August 17th I preached a sermon titled "Prayer as Communication with God." I thought you all would like to get a refresher on this in preparation for this weekends sermon topic. Here is a snippet from that sermon: “Jesus says in Luke 22.31: 'Simon, Simon, listen! Satan has demanded to sift all of you like wheat, but I have prayed for you that your own faith may not fail.' Ultimately, Jesus is praying for us—praying on our behalf—and that is why we pray in the name of Jesus. But, that is where many people get hung up on the Trinity—why does Jesus, who is God, pray to God? The reason that Jesus prays—is because prayer is communication—and what is necessary for communication is relationship. And what is fundamental to the Trinity is relationship. The Trinity—Father, Son and Holy Spirit—is all about relationship. The Father is in relationship with the Son through the Holy Spirit. And in relationship we acknowledge the fact that we are not each other—for instance, the Father is not the Son, the Son is not the Holy Spirit and the Holy Spirit is not the Father—while at the same time they are united—they are one—in relationship. That is why the Son, who is Jesus, prays to the Father—because they are in communication with each other. They are in relationship with each other. That is why it is fundamental to the Christian faith to pray. We acknowledge the fact that we are in relationship with God, by communicating with God. And God hears our prayers—and answers our prayers. And in relationship we change—we become more like Jesus—because we are being united to Christ through the Holy Spirit.” Prayer is something that is the very core of who we are as Christians. Let us stay in love with God by continuing to draw closer to God in prayer.