Sincerity and humility, closely connected. Our coming to God in sincerity of heart is that we humble ourselves before God in prayer. This then is the second requirement of acceptable prayer according to the 117th Answer: that we rightly and thoroughly know our need and misery, so we may deeply humble ourselves in the presence of his divine majesty.
We continue from part one of this series titled “In the School of Prayer: The Requirements of True Prayer.” Read part one here. When we pray, we are, first of all, called to pray to God sincerely. That's the first requirement of prayer, and we cannot go on to requirements 2 and 3 without first noticing this requirement: sincerity. Sincerity is underscored in Lord's Day 45. That was the teaching already of Question and Answer 116.
I must know him, the only true God, in order to be able to pray at all. But I cannot know him out of myself, I cannot find him out...Only he can make known to me who he is, and what he is. Hence I must begin to let him speak to me before I can even begin to speak to him. This he does in his word, in the holy scriptures.—In the Sanctuary, p. 12
Using the perfect model prayer given by Jesus, this book teaches the requirements of a true prayer. The author explains that because prayer is given to us by the Holy Spirit and because it is a time of fellowship with God in his sanctuary, we must pray in a God-honoring way.
How many Christians can confidently say that they have “mastered” the art of prayer? Probably no...
The RFPA has received many requests over the years to produce audio books, so we are excited to finally share with you the production of our first audio book: When You Pray.
What is blessedly refreshing about Professor Hanko’s work, When You Pray, is his admission that none of us is good at prayer—including himself—yet over the years of one’s life, the author assures us, a person can make progress in praying.
