Grace and Peace Episode 57
Presbyterian Church of Easton
October 31, 2021
Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Philippians 1:2
Heidelberg Catechism
117 Q. What is the kind of prayer that pleases God and that he listens to?
A. First, we must pray from the heart to no other than the one true God, revealed to us in his Word, asking for everything God has commanded us to ask for. Second, we must fully recognize our need and misery, so that we humble ourselves in God’s majestic presence. Third, we must rest on this unshakable foundation: even though we do not deserve it, God will surely listen to our prayer because of Christ our Lord. That is what God promised us in his Word.
118 Q. What did God command us to pray for?
A. Everything we need, spiritually and physically, as embraced in the prayer Christ our Lord himself taught us.
119 Q. What is this prayer?
A. Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name. Your kingdom come. Your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. And do not bring us to the time of trial, but rescue us from the evil one. For the kingdom and the power and the glory are yours forever. Amen.
Matthew 6:6 But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you. 7 And when you pray, do not keep on babbling like pagans, for they think they will be heard because of their many words. 8 Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him.
Last week we learned that the purpose of prayer is to express our gratitude for all the blessings we have received. As we pray for our own needs, we are expressing our thanks to God. How does this make any sense? How does praying a long list of desires and needs constitute our gratitude?
Suppose you are a parent of a small child. Your child is constantly asking for things. Some of these things are necessary like food. Some of these things are harmful and you want to protect the child from them. But whenever a child asks you for something you delight in being asked. You love that your child trusts you enough to ask for what is needed and confident of your love and care. In the same way, God delights in hearing our prayers. Let’s pray.
Heavenly Father, thank you for listening to our prayers. Thank you for delighting in talking with us. We pray this in the name of your son. Amen.
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