[Lee Grzywinski]

Hello, faithful readers!

In this chapter, Hallesby points out something we already know, but tend to forget: prayer is about the glory of God (as is everything we do!). Understanding this will have three results: it will give us a very real experience with God, it will bring Christ into our situation, and it will give us confidence in God even when our prayers are not answered as we want.

This all makes prayer an end and a means. Through prayer, we genuinely engage with God, but it is also a means to the one end (His glory) we should desire above all else. This makes whether or not we receive the answer we want, at most, only the third most important reason to pray. Even if we don’t get that answer, the presence of Christ and the desire for the glory of God will sanctify us and help us endure when we don’t get the answer we want. Praise God!

[Lynne Mazza-Hilway]

This chapter as well as the last further convict us in the need for the awareness of “naive self-love” and the importance of denial or checking of self. That entitlement Pastor Eric mentioned in his sermon yesterday where we “think and act as though everything was created for the purpose of bringing gratification to our selfish desires.’ Sadly sometimes we don’t reach out to God or pray to Him until we’re desperate. Even our prayer life is “replete with egoism.” Yes God wants to hear our desires and if His will and in His timing we will see an answer but thinking about how our request will or can affect and influence more people and give God a greater opportunity to show His glory helps us stretch our perspective. And join God in His work for all, using us in His perfect plans for more than just ourselves. “Prayer is the appointed way of giving Jesus an opportunity to exercise His supernatural powers of salvation. And in doing so He desires to make use of us.” And so we submit, here we are Lord, use us!

[Nayara Jordan]

Catching up a bit here! This was a short but impactful chapter. I have held in the back of my mind this idea for a long time: If I bring my request to God and ask that he fulfill it “only if He wills,” my prayer won’t be as bold or full of faith as if I pray in confidence believing and declaring it is as “yes and Amen” in Christ. This chapter challenges this idea and calls it out as a misunderstanding of what prayer sets out to do. It certainly helped me to stop and think about how I approach prayer and it is something I need to continue to reflect on to ensure I have the proper outlook on how I should pray.

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