Prayer and Our In-Christ Status (PrayerLife)

Our front yard, 11 PM, 1/5/14

As a Jesus-follower my spiritual status as being "in Christ." This status is not dependent on how I feel about things. This "in Christ" status is independent of circumstances. This describes the intimate God-relationship we have, in Jesus. To pray then becomes our response to this already-existing relationship, rather than an attempt to connect with God. All who are in Christ are already connected.

I like how Philip Yancey expresses this. He writes:

I have learned to see prayer not as my way of establishing God’s presence, rather as my way of responding to God’s presence that is a fact whether or not I can detect it. To quote Abraham Joshua Heschel, “Contact with Him is not our achievement. It is a gift, coming down to us from on high like a meteor, rather than rising up like a rocket. Before the words of prayer come to the lips, the mind must believe in God’s willingness to draw near to us, and in our ability to clear the path for His approach. Such belief is the idea that leads us toward prayer.” (In Philip Yancey, Prayer, Kindle Locations 955-956)