Prayer is simply, by faith, the articulation of our heart’s response to that which begins in the heart of God. The Trinity are so intimately connected that their thoughts form the continual communion and community that is prayer. Their first recorded internal conversation and prayer (let there be light, let there be life) begins the […]

Prayer is simply, by faith, the articulation of our heart’s response to that which begins in the heart of God.

The Trinity are so intimately connected that their thoughts form the continual communion and community that is prayer. Their first recorded internal conversation and prayer (let there be light, let there be life) begins the same way all prayers do- with the sincere desire of God to love.

And it continues with the unrelenting grace of the Lord to save. And finds its loudest voice in the sacrificial act of Christ who saved us by his death and resurrection. And whispers through the Holy Spirit each day, even when we stop listening.

And, as we enter into the Trinity’s conversation of love, we acknowledge that God is holy; beg God to make our world a little more heaven-like; ask that everyone has enough to eat; practise what it means to forgive and accept forgiveness; plead that we not be distracted by ungodly things and express our desire not to suffer injustice or pain.

We know the importance of prayer. And yet when we pray aloud in front of others, we often can’t think of what we want to say. And when we’re on our own, we are often inattentive to the moments we could use for prayer.

In Romans 8:26,27 St Paul writes: ‘the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We don’t know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us through wordless groans. And he who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for God’s people.’

And in verse 34 we read, ‘Christ Jesus … is at the right hand of God and is also interceding for us’.

Even when we can’t find the words to pray, we are reassured that our desires and needs are being heard as the Spirit interprets our heart, and as the Son intercedes for us, and as the Father hears with love. Prayer is enjoying the care of a powerful Father.

Rationally speaking, prayer makes no sense. And yet our LCA International Mission partners continually remind us of its importance. And that’s why we invite you to pray with us by using our monthly prayer calendar, by joining us for our monthly online prayer gathering and by praying while meditating on devotions written for the 40 days of Lent. And that is why we have decided to launch a month-long invitation for LCANZ members to cultivate communities of prayer through May.

Please join us in prayer, for in doing so you participate with joy by grace in who God is and with his mission in Australia, New Zealand and abroad.

This story was also published in the April 2024 edition of Border Crossings, the magazine of LCA International Mission.

To register and find out more about Pray through May, please contact Erin Kerber at erin.kerber@lca.org.au or phone +61 8 8267 7317.