What . . .

May we not say that prayer, at the heart of it, is just talking with God?

-- Richard Allen Bodey

When . . .

Remember that you can pray any time, anywhere. Washing dishes, digging ditches, working in the office, in the shop, on the athletic field, even in prison -- you can pray and know God hears!

-- Billy Graham

Why . . .

We pray because we realize that, at the core of who we are, we are incomplete. We have been created to be in touch not only with the natural, but with the supernatural. There is that longing for the divine.

-- Richard Peace

How . . .

Pray like this: Our Father in heaven . . .

-- Jesus

Seeking first things first . . .

Thy Kingdom come . . .

-- Jesus

Who is The Father?

. . . Father, Lord of heaven and earth . . .

-- Jesus

. . . God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ . . .

-- Paul

. . . God our Father . . .

-- Paul

. . . there is only one God, the Father . . .

-- Paul

. . . you can go directly to the Father and ask him, and he will grant your request because you use my name.

-- Jesus

Learning to talk with The Father . . .

Though a man should have all knowledge about prayer, and though he understand all mysteries about prayer, unless he prays, he will never learn to pray.

-- Samuel Chadwick

How do YOU talk with The Father?

How often do we make intelligent, honest requests for something we need from capable, trustworthy friends? Prayer is a lot like that. But somehow when the making of a request is termed “praying” and the capable party is termed “God,” things tend to get tangled. You’ve seen it, heard it, done it: the contorted syntax, formulaic phrasing, meaningless repetition, “just reallys,” vague non-requests, artificially pious tone of voice, air of confusion. If you talked to your friends or parents that way they’d think you’d lost your mind. But what if your understanding of prayer changes, and if your practice of prayer then changes? What then? What if the prayer requests you make—and the ones you ask others to make—change?” read more...

-- David Powlison

You should behave . . . like God's very own children, . . . calling him "Father, dear Father."

-- Paul

Listen to my pleading, O LORD. Be merciful and answer me!

-- King David

Conversations with The Father

. . . the earnest prayer of a righteous person has great power and wonderful results.

-- JamesIf you wish, you may click on "comments" below and share a conversation you've had with The Father so others may join you in talking with The Father about your concerns.

. . . let us come boldly to the throne of our gracious God. There we will receive his mercy, and we will find grace to help us when we need it.

-- Anonymous

Conversations that are repetitive can cause us to lose interest. Prayer is conversation with our heavenly Father. If we reduce our prayers to a formula or routine, the effect can be deadening on our desire to talk to God.

-- Early Light Devotional

Devote yourselves to prayer with an alert mind and a thankful heart.

-- Paul

Beware in your prayers, above everything else, of limiting God, not only by unbelief, but by fancying that you know what He can do. Expect unexpected things 'above all that we ask or think.'

— Andrew Murray

Prayers and Pleadings

The book of Hebrews describes the prayer life of Jesus in the following way: “While Jesus was here on earth, he offered prayers and pleadings, with a loud cry and tears, to the one who could deliver him” (5:7 NLT). That doesn’t sound like the way prayers are offered up in most churches on a typical Sunday morning. “Dear Lord, we thank you for this day, and we ask you to be with us in all we say and do. Amen.” No pleading here, no loud cries and tears. Our prayers are cordial, modest, even reverent. Eugene Peterson calls them “cut-flower prayers.” They are not like Jesus’ prayers, or, for that matter, like the psalms. The ranting and raving, the passion and ecstasy, the fury and desolation found in the psalms are so far from our religious expression that it seems hard to believe they were given to us as our guide to prayer. They seem so, well, desperate. Yet E. M. Bounds reminds us,

Desire gives fervor to prayer. The soul cannot be listless when some great desire fixes and inflames it . . .Strong desires make strong prayers . . . The neglect of prayer is the fearful token of dead spiritual desires . . .There can be no true praying without desire. (Man of Prayer)

-- John Eldredge, The Journey of Desire

A prayer for you . . .

Father, bless the person reading this with whatever it is You know they need today.

Awake in the morning, and the first thing you do, thank God for it, even if you don't feel particularly happy about the day which is to come. … Come to God again with two convictions. The one is that you are God's own, and the other is that this day is also God's own; it is absolutely new, absolutely fresh. … This day is blessed by God, it is God's own, and now let us go into it. You walk in this day as God's own messenger; whomever you meet, you meet in God's own way.

-- Anthony Bloom

I urge you, first of all, to pray for all people. As you make your requests, plead for God's mercy upon them, and give thanks. Pray this way for kings and all others who are in authority, so that we can live in peace and quietness, in godliness and dignity.

-- Paul

You can protect your children when they are small, but eventually they will leave the nest. Who will care for them then? When they go off to college or move away from home, who will hold them accountable and remind them of God’s principles? The wonderful thing about prayer is that by talking to the Father, you can go with your child anywhere. Through prayer, you can touch anybody anyplace in the world.

-- Charles Stanley

We learn from Abraham that it is possible to have an argument with God and win, and that, indeed, God invites us to dialogue with Him. more...

-- Rabbi Levi Meier

. . . we can be confident that he will listen to us whenever we ask him for anything in line with his will. And if we know he is listening when we make our requests, we can be sure that he will give us what we ask for.

-- John

The eyes of the LORD watch over those who do right; his ears are open to their cries for help.

-- King David

. . . the reason you don't have what you want is that you don't ask God for it. And even when you do ask, you don't get it because your whole motive is wrong--you want only what will give you pleasure.

-- James

If you need wisdom--if you want to know what God wants you to do--ask him, and he will gladly tell you. He will not resent your asking.

-- James

If you believe, you will receive whatever you ask for in prayer.

-- Jesus

. . . If two of you agree down here on earth concerning anything you ask, my Father in heaven will do it for you.

-- Jesus

If you sinful people know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give good gifts to those who ask him.

-- Jesus

For everyone who asks, receives. Everyone who seeks, finds. And the door is opened to everyone who knocks.

-- Jesus

. . . you, dear friends, must continue to build your lives on the foundation of your holy faith. And continue to pray as you are directed by the Holy Spirit.

-- Jude

The eyes of the Lord watch over those who do right, and his ears are open to their prayers. But the Lord turns his face against those who do evil.

-- Peter

In the same way, you husbands must give honor to your wives. Treat her with understanding as you live together. She may be weaker than you are, but she is your equal partner in God's gift of new life. If you don't treat her as you should, your prayers will not be heard.

-- Peter

Keep on praying.

-- Paul

Don't worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done.

-- Paul

Pray at all times and on every occasion in the power of the Holy Spirit. Stay alert and be persistent in your prayers for all Christians everywhere.

-- Paul

If people persecute you because you are a Christian, don't curse them; pray that God will bless them.

-- Paul

Be glad for all God is planning for you. Be patient in trouble, and always be prayerful.

-- Paul

One day Jesus told his disciples a story to illustrate their need for constant prayer and to show them that they must never give up. "There was a judge in a certain city," he said, "who was a godless man with great contempt for everyone. A widow of that city came to him repeatedly, appealing for justice against someone who had harmed her. The judge ignored her for a while, but eventually she wore him out. `I fear neither God nor man,' he said to himself, `but this woman is driving me crazy. I'm going to see that she gets justice, because she is wearing me out with her constant requests!'"
Then the Lord said, "Learn a lesson from this evil judge. Even he rendered a just decision in the end, so don't you think God will surely give justice to his chosen people who plead with him day and night? Will he keep putting them off? I tell you, he will grant justice to them quickly!"

-- Luke

Pray for the happiness of those who curse you. Pray for those who hurt you.

-- Jesus

. . . when you are praying, first forgive anyone you are holding a grudge against, so that your Father in heaven will forgive your sins, too.

-- Jesus

Listen to me! You can pray for anything, and if you believe, you will have it.

-- Jesus

Keep alert and pray. Otherwise temptation will overpower you. For though the spirit is willing enough, the body is weak!

-- Jesus

Keep on asking, and you will be given what you ask for. Keep on looking, and you will find. Keep on knocking, and the door will be opened.

-- Jesus

Perhaps you will have to spend hours on your knees or upon your face before the throne. Never mind. Wait. God will do great things for you if you will wait for Him. Yield to Him. Cooperate with Him.

-- John Smith, Early 19th century preacher

. . . I say, love your enemies! Pray for those who persecute you!

-- Jesus

. . . don't address anyone here on earth as `Father,' for only God in heaven is your spiritual Father.

-- Jesus

If you sinful people know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give good gifts to those who ask him.

-- Jesus

When you pray, don't babble on and on as people of other religions do. They think their prayers are answered only by repeating their words again and again. Don't be like them, because your Father knows exactly what you need even before you ask him!

-- Jesus

. . . When you pray, don't be like the hypocrites who love to pray publicly on street corners and in the synagogues where everyone can see them. I assure you, that is all the reward they will ever get. But when you pray, go away by yourself, shut the door behind you, and pray to your Father secretly. Then your Father, who knows all secrets, will reward you.

--Jesus

The Nature of God

The god an atheist does not believe in is usually not the God of the Bible. Unfortunately, the god of the “believer” is also often not the God of the Bible.
We can concoct a host of preconceived notions that describe an infinite Creator. Unfortunately, our notions are not necessarily relevant. If we want to know the traits of the biblical God, the place to look is the Bible. If we are investigating whether or not the Bible's description of God is realistic, the place to look is the world.

-- Gerald L. Schroeder

. . . we know that there is only one God, the Father, who created everything, and we exist for him.

-- Paul

Your heavenly Father already knows all your needs, and he will give you all you need from day to day if you live for him and make the Kingdom of God your primary concern.

-- Jesus

My father's faith . . .

The expressions of our faith are as varied as are our personalities. After having acquired a burial plot, my father referred to it as his "launching pad." Since he was neither a astronaut or a rocket, I assume he was referring to the bodily resurrection spoken of by Paul in his first letter to the Thessalonians.

-- Joe Wallace

God blesses those people who are humble. The earth will belong to them!

-- Jesus

. . . the godly will shine like the sun in their Father's Kingdom.

-- Jesus

. . . just as my Father has granted me a Kingdom, I now grant you the right to eat and drink at my table in that Kingdom . . .

-- Jesus

. . . your blood has ransomed people for God from every tribe and language and people and nation. And you have caused them to become God's Kingdom and his priests. And they will reign on the earth.

-- Heavenly beings to the Lamb

. . . the Kingdom of God belongs to such as these.

-- Jesus

Devote yourselves to prayer with an alert mind and a thankful heart.

-- Paul

Father, thank you for hearing me.

-- Jesus