Today’s blog incorporates the final three elements of Timothy Keller’s suggested frame work for prayer- Word prayer, free prayer, and contemplation. 3. Word prayer. Pastor Keller states that Martin Luther gives us an important and often overlooked step in daily prayer. Before he moved on to free-form prayer, Luther took time to “pray the text” […]
In Chapter 15 (“Practice: Daily Prayer”) of Prayer: Experiencing Awe and Intimacy with God, Timothy Keller outlines his suggested framework for daily prayer, emphasizing that neither the details nor the order is written in stone. The framework consists of evocation, meditation, Word prayer, free prayer, and contemplation. Evocation and meditation are discussed today. 1. Evocation. […]
“If I had cherished sin in my heart, the Lord would not have listened.”- Psalm 66:18 “For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.”- 2 Corinthians 5:21 Timothy Keller concludes Chapter 14 of Prayer by reminding us that, in […]
Timothy Keller continues Chapter 14 of Prayer by stating that prayer is powerful and effective because God allows the world to be “in some sense” under the control of prayer’s power. He relates a story told by Austin Phelps in his volume on prayer. The pagan Saxon king of Northumbria, Ethelfrith, had invaded Wales and […]
Timothy Keller concludes Chapter 12 of Prayer by noting that the last Psalms of the Psalter are all praise. In his book Answering God, Eugene Peterson states that just as the Psalter ends in unbroken praise, all prayer is framed by praise. In the end, all prayer should and will end in praise: “[This means] […]
“For although they know God, they neither glorified him as God nor gave thanks to him.”- Romans 1:21 Timothy Keller continues Chapter 12 of Prayer by noting that ultimately thanksgiving is a subcategory of praise. However, Pastor Keller states that if we’re going to make headway in the work of praise and thanksgiving, we must […]
“Wherever the soul of man turns, unless towards God, it cleaves to sorrow, even though the things outside God and outside itself to which it clings may be things of beauty.”- Augustine, Confessions As Timothy Keller begins Chapter 12 of Prayer, he states that another reason for the primacy of praise is that it has great […]
“My heart says of you, ‘Seek his face.’ Your face, Lord, will I seek.”- Psalm 27:8 In Chapter 11 of Prayer, Timothy Keller writes that when we speak to someone, we address the person to his or her face. Thus, to seek God’s face is “to have our hearts enabled by the Holy Spirit to […]
“For this reason I kneel before the Father, from whom his whole family in heaven and on earth derives its name.”- Ephesians 3:14 Timothy Keller continues his discussion of Ephesians 3:14-19 in Chapter 11 of Prayer by taking specific note of Paul’s opening phrase of his prayer- that he (Paul) kneels before the Father. In […]
“And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the Lord’s holy people, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know that this love surpasses knowledge- that you may be filled to the measure of all the […]
“As far as I can see, prayer has been ordained only for the helpless. . . . Prayer and helplessness are inseparable. Only he who is helpless can truly pray.”- Ole Hallesby, Prayer Timothy Keller continues his discussion of the twelve touchstones of prayer by presenting the three things prayer requires. Prayer requires: 4. Grace- […]
Today Timothy Keller discusses the second and third touchstones of prayer in Chapter 9 of Prayer: Experiencing Awe and Intimacy with God. 2. Prayer is conversing with God- responding to the Word. Pastor Keller notes that “to walk with” someone in the Bible is to have a friendship, since people talk as they walk together. […]