In today’s blog, Calvin’s second rule, or principle, of prayer is presented and discussed. 2. Spiritual humility. Calvin described his second rule for prayer as “the sense of need that excludes all unreality.” This spiritual humility includes both (a) a strong sense of our dependence on God, in general, and (b) a readiness to recognize […]
“If you, O Lord, kept a record of sins, O Lord, who could stand? But with you there is forgiveness; therefore you are feared.”- Psalm 130:3-4 In Chapter 7 (“Rules for Prayer”) of Prayer: Experiencing Awe and Intimacy with God, Timothy Keller discusses four rules of prayer in John Calvin’s Institutes of the Christian Religion. […]
At the end of Chapter 6 of Prayer, Timothy Keller shares one final exercise Martin Luther advocates before we pray free-form about the things on our hearts. Following meditation on Scripture, Luther suggests praying through each petition of the Lord’s Prayer. As we do so, we are to paraphrase and personalize each petition using our […]
Timothy Keller concludes Chapter 6 of Prayer by expanding on Luther’s four strands of meditation on a text from Scripture: instruction, thanksgiving, confession, and prayer. 1. Instruction. We begin by discerning the instruction of a text. Luther called this the “school text” part of meditation, where we interpret the biblical passage by distilling its essential […]
“Let us lift up our hearts and our hands to God in heaven.”- Lamentations 3:41 “He [Martin Luther] speaks with the great reverence of one who speaks to his God, and with trust and hope of one who speaks with his father and friend.”- Veit Dietrich, friend of Luther Timothy Keller continues Chapter 6 of […]
“One thing have I desired of the Lord, one thing will I seek after: that I may dwell in the house of the Lord to behold the beauty of the Lord.”- Psalm 27:4 In today’s blog, Timothy Keller discusses St. Augustine’s three remaining principles of prayer. 2. Pray for a happy life. As Augustine previously […]
Part Three of Prayer: Experiencing Awe and Intimacy with God is entitled “Learning Prayer”. Timothy Keller states that the rest of his book will address the practical questions regarding prayer. In Chapter 6 (“Letters on Prayer”), the author turns to three of the greatest teachers (in his opinion) in the history of the Christian church- St. Augustine, […]
“To see the law by Christ fulfilled And hear his pard’ning voice Transforms a slave into a child And duty into choice.”- William Cowper, Olney Hymns Timothy Keller concludes Chapter 5 of Prayer by discussing the ground motive 0f Spirit-directed, Christ-mediated prayer: to simply know Him better and enjoy His presence. Pastor Keller notes this […]
“Through him [Christ] we both have access to the Father by one Spirit.”- Ephesians 2:18 In Chapter 5 of Prayer, Timothy Keller astutely observes that while we know God is working out all things for our good according to His purpose (Romans 8:28), we usually can’t discern what that good is. Stated another way, we […]
“For we who are led by the Spirit of God are children of God. The Spirit you received does not make you slaves, so that you live in fear again; rather, the Spirit you received brought about your adoption to sonship. And by him we cry, ‘Abba, Father.’ The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit […]
“To encounter the words of the Scripture is to encounter God in action.”- Timothy Ward, Words of Life (2009) In Chapter 5 (“Encountering God”) of Prayer, Timothy Keller states that although prayer is a conversation with God, such conversations can remain at a superficial level, never rising to true personal encounter and relationship. It’s the […]
“The people walking in darkness have seen a great light; on those living in the land of the shadow of death, a light has dawned.”- Isaiah 9:2-3 “Hope is being able to see that there is light despite all the darkness.”- Desmond Tutu For my sixteenth Christmas, my parents gave me the opportunity to select […]