Message of Prayer: Approaching the Throne of Grace (Bible Speaks Today Themes Series)

There are already more books on prayer than anyone could ever hope to read. But the message of prayer as conveyed through the Scriptures is often lost as many books seem to be informed more by the experiences of their authors than by Scripture. However, the Bible not only teaches us about prayer, it also gives us many examples of prayer. It is God's Word to us, and it teaches us how to respond to that Word. For Timothy Chester, an understanding of prayer begins with an understanding of the doctrine of God. The prayer of faith, as represented in the Scriptures, is a trinitarian experience--to God through Christ in the Spirit.  
  
Here we see prayer as practiced by the patriarchs, apostles and ordinary people in the community of faith. We find that our ancestors in the faith faced similar struggles in prayer to ours, and we take guidance from their examples. In the end, the message of prayer is that to be people of prayer is to be people of the Book, and to be people of the Book is to be people of prayer.  
  
Tim Chester's insightful exposition of this central aspect of Christian living is driven by the conviction that we need to reform not only our thinking and behaviour in the light of God's Word, but also our praying.  
  
Drawing on a wide range of biblical texts, he explores the foundations and the practice of prayer, and shows that how we understand prayer is necessarily bound up with how we understand the gospel, and God himself.  
  
In this profound exposition of biblical teaching on prayer, Tim Chester writes, "God has come near to unworthy people 'with the nearness of Father and child'. So, it is in coming as a petitioner before God that the praying person makes the most genuine act of praise and thanksgiving, and therefore worship. . . The Bible invites us to find the model of prayer in the simple petitioning of a child before a father. This leads to freedom and peace."  
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"For Timothy Chester, an understanding of prayer begins with an understanding of the doctrine of God. The prayer of faith, as represented in the Scriptures, is a trinitarian experience - to God through Christ in the Spirit." "Here we see prayer as practiced by the patriarchs, apostles and ordinary people in the community of faith. We find that in prayer our ancestors faced similar struggles to ours, and we take guidance from their examples. In the end, the message of prayer is that to be people of prayer is to be people of the Book, and to be people of the Book is to be people of prayer."--BOOK JACKET. Title Summary field provided by Blackwell North America, Inc. All Rights ReservedRead less