Bonhoeffer on Prayer, Part One

I have been reading The Cost of Discipleship for several months. It's the kind of book that you read a bit and then put it down for a while. There's a lot to digest. If the thought of reading this book is daunting to you, you should at least read the section "Of the Hidden Character of the Christian Life." The following passage is from Chapter 15, "The Hiddeness of Prayer."

We are privileged to know that he knows our needs before we ask him. This is what gives Christian prayer its boundless confidence and its joyous certainty. It matters little what form of prayer we adopt or how many words we use, what matters is the faith which lays hold on God and touches the heart of the Father who knew us long before we came to him.

Genuine prayer is never "good works," an exercise or a pious attitude, but it is always the prayer of a child to a Father. Hence, it is never given to self-display, whether before God, ourselves, or other people. ... Thus faith, which is the mainspring of Christian prayer, excludes all reflection and premeditation.

Prayer is the supreme instance of the hidden character of the Christian life. It is the antithesis of self-display. When men pray, they have ceased to know themselves, and know only God whom they call upon.

The essence of Christian prayer is not general adoration, but definite, concrete petition. The right way to approach God is to stretch out our hands and ask of One who we know has the heart of a Father.

True prayer does not depend either on the individual or the whole body of the faithful, but solely upon the knowledge that our heavenly Father knows our needs. That makes God the sole object of our prayers, and frees us from a false confidence in our own prayerful efforts.

Be encouraged today!