Spiritual Growth / Prayer

  • The Power of Prayer

    Isaiah 38

    God’s granting fifteen more years of life to Hezekiah does not mean He changes His mind like we do. Instead, such accounts show us that the Lord has a real relationship with His people in time and responds to ...Read More

  • Delivered from Assyria’s Hand

    Isaiah 37

    Hezekiah’s willingness to pray in today’s passage indicates that while the promises of God are sure, we should not be afraid to pray even after we have received them. As we seek the Lord’s face, He brings ...Read More

  • Our Amen to the Glory of God

    2 Corinthians 1:20

    The Christian faith is simple enough for anyone to grasp and yet so rich that a lifetime of study will not exhaust our need to plumb the depths of our holy religion as it is revealed in sacred Scripture. As ...Read More

  • The Lord’s Prayer

    Luke 11:1–4

    Using the Lord’s Prayer as a model involves prioritizing our petitions according to the prayer’s structure. The first thing for which Jesus prays is that God’s name would be hallowed and that His kingdom would come. That ...Read More

  • What Should We Pray For?

    Matthew 6:33

    Our compassionate and gracious God is far more concerned about our essential needs than we can ever know. That is why we should not be afraid to mention even those needs that we consider the most insignificant whenever we talk ...Read More

  • Believing God

    John 14:13–14

    There is no such thing as unanswered prayer for the Christian. God’s answer may be “no,” and we may not like that, but that does not mean the Lord has not answered our prayer. What we do know is ...Read More

  • Praying in Faith

    James 1:5–8

    Many people today believe that Jesus promises them a high-paying job, a big house, health, and other physical blessings. They presume upon God’s grace, naming and claiming such things as their own. Yet while we may certainly ask for ...Read More

  • How to Pray

    James 5:16

    Martin Luther’s advice on prayer is found in the handy booklet titled A Simple Way to Pray. Many people, including Dr. Sproul, have found this work to be very helpful for their prayer lives, but even if you do ...Read More

  • Turning Adversity to Good

    Luke 11:5–13

    When the catechism says that God gives His Spirit only to those who ask, it is not speaking of God’s blessing of the Holy Spirit in our regeneration, which is His work alone. Rather, the confession is speaking of ...Read More

  • Why Do God’s People Pray?

    1 Thessalonians 5:16–18

    Giving thanks in all circumstances does not mean that we become thrilled with the prospect of pain. Instead, it means thanking the Lord for how He uses our greatest joys and deepest hurts to make us more like Jesus. Regular ...Read More

  • Paul’s Gratitude for the Philippians

    Philippians 1:3–5

    God does not save us to be lone ranger Christians, but He expects us to partner with other believers in order to send forth the gospel. There are a multitude of ways in which we can support our churches, parachurch ...Read More

  • Prayer for Boldness

    Ephesians 6:19–20

    Again we note that, just as in Colossians, Paul does not request in today’s passage to be released from prison but for more ministry opportunities (Col. 4:3–4). This is a model for us. It is, of course ...Read More

  • Consistent, Persevering Prayer

    Ephesians 6:18

    In addition to being specific in prayer, God also wants us to be persistent in intercession (Eph. 6:18). This is a good reminder for us today, as we are likely to give up praying when we feel as if ...Read More

  • Christ in Our Hearts

    Ephesians 3:16-17a

    Christ does not wait for us to be perfect before He takes up residence within us, and for that we can rejoice. Yet it is possible to grieve His Spirit by our sin (Eph. 4:30), and so we must ...Read More

  • Bowing the Knee

    Ephesians 3:14-15

    God was rarely referred to as “Father” under the old covenant, so we should be glad to live in the new covenant era when the fatherhood of God is made plain to everyone in Christ. Still, when we approach our ...Read More