‘Prayer is the measure of a man, spiritually, in a way that nothing else is,’ said J. I. Packer. Our prayers reveal what our hearts want. They reveal how we regard God and His power. They reveal the quality and measure of faith. Do we pray often and carefully, or not much at all?
The same must be true of a church’s prayers. They reveal what a church values, and where it places its hope.
Belief as mental assent seldom prays. Belief as ‘I know New Zealand exists but it makes no difference in my life’ seldom prays. Nominal Christianity seldom prays. A person sitting on God’s throne does not pray.
