Conversation

In his book Essentials of the Christian Faith, theologian R. C. Sproul wrote about a time when a young man asked, “Are you saved?” Sproul answered, “Saved from what?” Sproul wrote, “The man was taken aback by my question. He obviously hadn’t thought much about the meaning of the question he was asking people.”

The greatest weapon in the spiritual battle is prayer—talking with God. We can only be strong in the strength of his might. And that strength comes when we are in conversation with the One in charge of the battle. Even when we are all buckled up in our battle gear, we must hear the voice of the Sovereign Commander. He is the only One who brings the victory.

Prayer is a personal conversation with our Father. It should not be filled with clever Christian clichés or worn-out prayer phrases. It is fresh, real, and uninhibited—like any meaningful conversation in our lives. Using the Lord’s Prayer to learn how we are to pray, we see the principles of revering the person of God not only in quiet prayer time but also in the car on a backed-up road when we are in a hurry and in the interactions with our children at the end of the day when we are tired. We have considered our need to submit to the Father’s will. Now, we will focus on dependence.

Prayer is a personal conversation with our Father. It should not be filled with clever Christian clichés or worn-out prayer phrases. It is fresh, real, and raw—like any meaningful conversation in our lives.

We must never look down on our youth. They are tomorrow’s church.

God is impressed by the sincere cries of my heart.

Life is a great gift from God that should be esteemed and celebrated.

While we can only see the outward appearance, “the Lord looks on the heart.”

Our prayer focus today is simply this, “Speak, Lord, for your servant is listening.”