Be amazed by the gift of prayer, and commune with God in prayer today:
From this Father-initiated, Son-purchased, Spirit-effected communion with God, we pray with humble boldness ( Heb. 4:16 ). That is, we speak to God the Father, on the basis of Christ’s work, by the help of the Spirit. This speaking is called prayer . . . .
Prayer is the verbal aspect of our response to God in communion with him. The Bible does speak of “groanings too deep for words” ( Rom. 8:26 ), but ordinarily prayer is the response of our heart to God in words. It may be in private ( Matt. 6:6 ) or in public ( 1 Cor. 14:16 ). It may last all night ( Luke 6:12 ) or be summed up in a moment’s cry ( Matt. 14:30 ). It may be desperate ( Jonah 2:2 ) or joyful ( Ps. 119:162 ). It may be full of faith ( Mark 11:24 ) or wavering with uncertainty ( Mark 9:24 ). But it is not optional. It is commanded—which is good news, because it means that God loves being the giver of omnipotent help ( Ps. 50:15 ).
——–
Crossway Bibles. ESV Study Bible (Kindle Locations 338806-338822). Crossway. Kindle Edition.