Prayer as Privilege

Theologian Dr. R. C. Sproul repeatedly refers to prayer as a privilege in his writing, but it is a privilege that Christians often misunderstand and take for granted. Dr. Sproul wrote, "In a sense, prayer is unnatural to us."1 He also spoke of it as the "unique concept of redemption through adoption."2 He saw this as an essential key to the life of a Christian, but one that our very nature makes us blind to. The unnaturalness that he spoke of can be summed up in the following:

1. Man was created to commune with God.

2. Sinful man is separated from God and cannot be in unity, commune, with Him.

3. The flesh of fallen man does not want to commune with God.

4. The Spirit gives us the ability to accept Christ.

5. Through Christ we are no longer slaves to our flesh.

6. By adoption, we are unified with Christ and are not children by flesh but children through The Spirit.

7. Through The Spirit, we commune with God; calling out to Him.

In prayer, we are not dead in the the nature of the flesh, but rather we are restored through the supernatural power of The Spirit in God's great adopted family. For the believer, prayer should be proof of the restoration and the promise.

Are you able to talk to God? Do you want to talk to God? Are you united with Christ as a son or a daughter of God?

Maybe you have never prayed before, maybe you have never accepted Christ, or maybe you have and you have just been allowing your flesh to cause you to overlook the amazing privilege it is to be a child of God. Whatever the case, pray this prayer today:

God, I want the amazing privilege of being in communion with You. I know that I cannot do that on my own, but through Your Son Jesus Christ I can be redeemed from my sins. I accept Jesus Christ as Lord of my life and I want to be unified with Him as Your child through Your Holy Spirit. Today, I call You Father God. Please be with me and speak to me. I will speak to you and walk with You all the days of my life. Because of Your Son Jesus Christ and through Your Holy Spirit I pray! Amen!

1 The Place of Prayer, 2011 Ligonier Ministries

2 The Privilege of Addressing God as "Father", 2016 Ligonier Ministries