- Pray within the forgiveness Christ offers.
- Pray as one beloved of God.
- Pray as a way to open your heart to the truth of yourself.
- Pray in a way that moves beyond cliches to discover where prayer becomes real.
Book Insights from Kyle Strobel
Prayer, for many, is an isolating, lonely place. We start to pray and our mind wanders, we fall asleep, or we discover how bored they are. Often, the deep problem is that we are trying to be good at prayer, instead of drawing near to the Lord in truth. The calling of prayer is to come to God in the truth — the truth of our sin, struggles, worries, and anxieties — so that we can know his grace and mercy right where we need it. This is where prayer becomes real, because only here do we bring the real treasures of our heart to God.
We wrote Where Prayer Becomes Real: How Honesty with God Transforms Your Soul to encourage people to draw near to their Lord. Ask yourself: Are my prayers given shape by the gospel or your goodness? Do I actually pray in my name, or in Jesus’ name? The good news is that:
- Prayer is not a place to be good, it is a place to be honest.
- Prayer is not a place to perform, it is a place to be present.
- Prayer is not a place to prove your worth, it is a place to receive worth and offer yourself in truth.
Prayer must be formed by the good news of what Jesus has done. We draw near in his righteousness, holiness, and grace, so we pray in his name and not our own. Learn a deeper way to draw near.