Dietrich Bonhoeffer wrote:”Prayer does not mean simply to pour out one’s heart. It means rather to find the way to God and to speak with him, whether the heart is full or empty. No man can do that by himself. For that he needs Jesus Christ.”

“When our will wholeheartedly enters into the prayer of Christ, then we pray correctly. Only in Jesus Christ are we able to pray, and with him we also know that we shall be heard.”

According to Bonhoeffer, Jesus is integral to our prayer life. It is only when we surrender to the Son and allow Him to bring us to the throne room, can we truly be in communion with God.  

And so, we must learn to pray, it is not something that we automatically know how to do. Thankfully, God has given us prayers in scripture. Bonhoeffer called the Psalms the prayer book of the Bible and they are the key to learning how to pray. Luther felt that the Psalms penetrates the Lord’s Prayer and the Lord’s Prayer penetrates the Psalms. So much so that by praying both we can bring them into perfect harmony.

I often find that as I read and pray through a Psalm, it doesn’t always reflect my need at the time. Maybe that is because I am more focused on me than I am on what Christ wants to communicate to me and through me.  

If you haven’t done this before or for some time, pick a few Psalms this week and pray through them and see what God has to reveal to you.  

Always praying for the glory of God,

Chris McKean