A Word to the Wise: The Trinity and Prayer
This Trinitarian mutuality impacts public prayer in two ways. First, each member of the Trinity is intimately involved in the very act of praying. As the old saying goes, we pray to the Father, through the Son, by the power of the Spirit. Paul Miller helpfully elaborates on the mysterious Trinitarian interplay in the act of praying:
Even now I often don’t realize that I am praying. Possibly, it isn’t even me praying, but the Spirit. Paul said, “God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying, ‘Abba! Father!’” (Galatians 4:6). The Spirit is not assisting us to pray; he is the one who is actually praying. He is the pray-er. More specifically, it is the Spirit of his Son praying. The Spirit is bringing the childlike heart of Jesus into my heart and crying Abba, Father. Jesus’s longing for his Father becomes my longing. My spirit meshes with the Spirit, and I, too, begin to cry, Father
(A Praying Life).
While Miller is talking about the Trinity moving us in personal prayer, the same is true in public prayer. The Holy Spirit moves leaders to prepare and pray Christlike prayers to the Father on behalf of his gathered children.
Pat Quinn, Crossway, 4.1.25, Prayer Is and Should Be Trinitarian
This Trinitarian mutuality impacts public prayer in two ways. First, each member of the Trinity is intimately involved in the very act of praying. As the old saying goes, we pray to the Father, through the Son, by the power of the Spirit. Paul Miller helpfully elaborates on the mysterious Trinitarian interplay in the act of praying:
Even now I often don’t realize that I am praying. Possibly, it isn’t even me praying, but the Spirit. Paul said, “God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying, ‘Abba! Father!’” (Galatians 4:6). The Spirit is not assisting us to pray; he is the one who is actually praying. He is the pray-er. More specifically, it is the Spirit of his Son praying. The Spirit is bringing the childlike heart of Jesus into my heart and crying Abba, Father. Jesus’s longing for his Father becomes my longing. My spirit meshes with the Spirit, and I, too, begin to cry, Father
(A Praying Life).
While Miller is talking about the Trinity moving us in personal prayer, the same is true in public prayer. The Holy Spirit moves leaders to prepare and pray Christlike prayers to the Father on behalf of his gathered children.
Pat Quinn, Crossway, 4.1.25, Prayer Is and Should Be Trinitarian
Here are Four Things to Know this Week:
1. After Two Years of Litigation, One Suit Remains In Johnny Hunt Lawsuit (Baptist Press)
2. AI ‘Here to Stay:’ When Faith Meets Technology (The Baptist Paper)
3. Study: Most Americans – Including Churchgoers – Reject the Trinity (The Baptist Paper)
4. 2 Tech Changes That Can Increase Giving (Lifeway Research)
Thank you for reading this blog. I hope it is a help to you.
To the praise of His glory,
Ray
1. After Two Years of Litigation, One Suit Remains In Johnny Hunt Lawsuit (Baptist Press)
2. AI ‘Here to Stay:’ When Faith Meets Technology (The Baptist Paper)
3. Study: Most Americans – Including Churchgoers – Reject the Trinity (The Baptist Paper)
4. 2 Tech Changes That Can Increase Giving (Lifeway Research)
Thank you for reading this blog. I hope it is a help to you.
To the praise of His glory,
Ray
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