We were thinking together last Sunday evening about Jesus words to his disciples in John 16 in which he spoke of the reality that in and through him, we get direct access to God the Father to lay before him our praises and petitions and are assured we will be heard (see John 16:23,24,26). He then gives every disciple further encouragement to approach God the Father with confidence and expectation when we pray, when he reminds us: the Father himself loves you (16:27). All of this displaying for us the wonderful privilege of prayer.

Further to that I thought I might share with you some words from an email I received this morning from ‘Gospel in Life’ (I get regular emails from them, but this one seemed particularly relevant) in which Kathy Keller, widow of Tim Keller, was writing of our need as Christians to pray:

“In the early 2000s, Tim and I were hit with a series of trials: the tragic events of 9/11, Tim’s new thyroid cancer diagnosis, and my own battle with Crohn’s disease. These challenges thrust us into a season of uncertainty and grief — we were facing trials we had never imagined.

“Imagine,” I said, “that you were diagnosed with a life-threatening condition, and the doctor told you that without taking a specific medicine—a pill—every night before going to bed, you would die. You would never forget it, would you? You would never skip it. It would be so essential to your survival that you couldn’t afford to miss a single night. Well, prayer is like that. We need it to survive. We can’t let it slip our minds.”

I didn’t know it at the time, but that moment marked a turning point for both of us. Something about the clarity of the illustration and the Spirit’s work in our hearts opened our eyes to the undeniable truth: prayer was not optional. It was essential.

And so after that, until Tim’s death in 2023, Tim and I never missed a single night of prayer together—whether we’re in the same place or separated by oceans.

As I reflect on that experience, I’m reminded of the transformative power of prayer. It’s not just a ritual; it’s a lifeline.”

In the light of all that we would do well to echo the last verse of the hymn Prayer is the soul’s sincere desire which itself echoes the first disciples’ request to Jesus in Luke 11:1:

O Thou by whom we come to God,
the Life, the Truth, the Way,
the path of prayer thyself hast trod:
Lord, teach us how to pray!

PS If you want further help and encouragement in praying, I would heartily commend Tim Keller’s book Prayer: Experiencing Awe and Intimacy with God (see here)