The Christian Doctrine of Prayer

Top Highlights

“What we must recognize, in the first place, is this: that we are most natural when we pray, for if there is one thing certain about human nature, it is that man is a praying animal, and is born to pray.” (Page 4)

“Prayer is not an easy exercise. It requires encouragement, exposition, and training. There never was a time when men and women were more sincerely anxious to be told how to pray. Prayer is the mightiest weapon in our armoury, and if we are to use it as God has given us the encouragement, we must do everything in our power to bring it into exercise.” (Pages vii–viii)

“The first ingredient in prayer is, not intelligence, but movement of the spirit—of the soul. The raw material of prayer, so to put it, is a vague aspiration of the soul towards its true Object.” (Page 13)

“In the larger sense of the word, as the spiritual language of the soul, prayer is intercourse with God, often seeking no end beyond the pleasure of such intercourse. It is praise; it is congratulation; it is adoration of the Infinite Majesty; it is a colloquy in which the soul engages with the All-wise and the All-holy: it is a basking in the sunshine, varied by ejaculations of thankfulness to the Sun of Righteousness for His light and His warmth.” (Page 21)

“We must go further. Prayer is the expression of a good desire; it is also the expression of a Godward desire.” (Page 28)