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We are coming to the end of our series on Prayer.  I hope many have been challenged, encouraged and spurred on to go deeper with God through prayer.  Tim Keller talks about 12 touchstones of prayer in his book "Prayer: Experiencing Awe and Intimacy with God."  Here is his helpful summary of them for your review and practice: 

Prayer 

What is is

  • Work - Prayer is a duty and discipline
  • Word - Prayer is conversing with God 
  • Balance - Prayer is adoration, confession, thanks and supplication. 

What it requires

  • Grace - Prayer is "in Jesus' name," based on the gospel. 
  • Fear - Prayer is the heart engaged in loving awe. 
  • Helplessness - Prayer is accepting one's weakness and dependence.  

What if gives 

  • Perspective - Prayer reorients your view towards God. 
  • Strength - Prayer is spiritual union with God. 
  • Spiritual Reality - Prayer seeks a heart sense of the presence of God. 

Where it takes us 

  • Self-knowledge - Prayer requires and creates honesty and self-knowledge. 
  • Trust - Prayer requires and creates both restful trust and confident hope. 
  • Surrender - Prayer requires and creates surrender of the whole life in love to God. 

Tim Keller, Prayer: Experiencing Awe and Intimacy with God, New York, NY, Dutton, 2014, 141.  

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