#10: Why Pray‪?‬ Thinking Christianly

Prayer is an important part of how we engage in relationship with God. It remains, however, a mysterious practice to many Christians. In this episode, Stan and JP discuss key beliefs about the role of prayer in the life of the believer. They investigate the purpose of prayer and why so many Christians feel frustration around the discipline of prayer.In this podcast we discuss: What prayer isThe relationship of prayer to God’s foreknowledgeHow we should understand unanswered prayer and disappointment with GodWhy God doesn’t interfere with our free willPrayer pitfalls: hat untrue ideas we might have about prayerHow prayer helps us co-labor with God toward his purposesWhy we should ask many people to pray for a specific requestThe value of written prayers in our formationThe possible relationship between our personality type and prayer lifeThe role of persistence in our prayer life.Resources mentioned during our conversation:Dallas Willard, The Divine Conspiracy: Rediscovering Our Hidden Life In God (not mentioned, but also see his Hearing God: Developing a Conversational Relationship with God)Dallas Willard, A Paraphrase of the Lord’s PrayerJP Moreland, A Simple Guide to Experience Miracles: Instruction and Inspiration for Living Supernaturally in Christ Thomas Aquinas, A Prayer Before StudyJames Sire, Learning to Pray Through the PsalmsJames Sire, Praying the Psalms of JesusChester P. Michael & Marie C. Norrisey, Prayer and Temperament: Different Prayer Forms for Different Personality TypesC. S. Lewis, Letters to Malcolm, Chiefly on Prayer