The Place of Prayer

As we approach Good Friday tomorrow, I think it's significant to reflect upon the place of prayer and what it actually is. Here are some quick thoughts:

The place of prayer is the place of aligning our hearts with God's heart, where we leave everything at the foot of the Cross and come to Him with empty hands and willing hearts and say, as Jesus did in the Garden, 'not my will, but Yours.' This is the place where we quiet ourselves--our minds and our hearts--and intentionally give God the time and opportunity to change us, to change the way we think, renewing our minds, and to bring us into agreement with Him. The priority here is not to bring our lists of wants and needs for ourselves or even for others, but to humble ourselves before Him and ask that His Kingdom would come and His will would be done in our lives and hearts. As John Stott said, 'The purpose of prayer is emphatically not to bend God's will to ours, but rather to align our will to His.'