Unspoken Sermons · Chapter
The Word of Jesus on Prayer explained
This chapter explores the nature of prayer as a childlike cry to the Father, emphasizing that the primary purpose of prayer is not to receive specific gifts but to enter into communion with God.
What happens
This chapter explores the nature of prayer as a childlike cry to the Father, emphasizing that the primary purpose of prayer is not to receive specific gifts but to enter into communion with God. It addresses doubts about whether God hears prayer, arguing that personal experience, not external testimony, is the only true assurance. The chapter discusses unanswered prayer, the necessity of asking, and the importance of submitting to God's will, using St. Paul's thorn in the flesh and Jesus' prayer in Gethsemane as examples.
Themes in this chapter
Divine Childlikeness
Prayer is presented as the cry of a child to the Father, with childlike trust and boldness essential for true communion.
God as Loving Father
God is depicted as a loving Father who listens, considers, and responds with perfect tenderness, not as an unwilling or hard master.
The Individual Relationship with God
The chapter stresses that the sole assurance of prayer's efficacy comes from personal experience, not external testimony, highlighting the intimate, individual nature of the relationship with God.
Characters to notice
- God the Father
Portrayed as a loving Father who hears and answers prayer according to His perfect wisdom and love, often withholding lesser gifts to give the greater gift of Himself.
- Jesus Christ
Referenced as the one through whom we rise to knowledge of the Father's glory, and as the example of childlike prayer in Gethsemane: 'Nevertheless, not my will, but thine be done.'
- St. Paul
Cited for his experience of unanswered prayer regarding a thorn in the flesh, and God's response: 'My grace is sufficient for thee; power is made perfect in weakness.'
- David
Mentioned as an example of true prayer in the Psalms, though the author notes that some may dismiss his cries as mere poetry.
Key passages
“Every need of God, lifting up the heart, is a seeking of God, is a begging for himself, is profoundest prayer, and the root and inspirer of all other prayer.”
Any deep longing for God that raises the heart is itself the most fundamental prayer—a plea for God's own presence—and it gives rise to all other forms of prayer.
Defines the essence of prayer as the soul's innate desire for God.
“What if the main object in God's idea of prayer be the supplying of our great, our endless need—the need of himself?”
Perhaps God's primary purpose in prayer is to meet our deepest, never-ending need: the need for God himself.
Highlights the central theme that communion with God is the ultimate goal of prayer.
“The sole assurance worth a man’s having, even if the most incontestable evidence were open to him from a thousand other quarters, is that to be gained only from personal experience.”
The only assurance that truly matters—even if overwhelming external proof were available—is the assurance that comes from one's own direct experience.
Emphasizes the primacy of personal encounter over intellectual assent.