Our Approach to God in Prayer

Adapted from Matthew Henry's Method for Prayer

As we prepare ourselves to pray, Christians will:

compose our hearts, so that we are reverent and joyful, serious and delighted, God-fearing and God-desiring;

with our thoughts gathered in, and God's word stored up, and all that is within us charged with anticipation of communion with the Triune God; longing to come to the Father, by the Son, through the Holy Spirit;

we set the Lord himself before us, with a fixed attention and application of mind and an active lively faith, and (as it were) we see his eyes upon us, and set ourselves in his special presence, presenting ourselves to him as a living sacrifice, which we desire may be holy and acceptable and a reasonable service;

*We lift up our hearts, with our eyes and hands, unto God in the heavens.
*We stir up ourselves to take hold on God, to seek his face, and to give him the glory due unto his name. Unto thee, O Lord, do we lift up our souls.
*We enter, in humble boldness, into the holiest by the blood of Jesus, in the new and living way, which he hath consecrated for us through the veil.
*We attend upon the Lord without distraction, so that our hearts are not far from him when we draw nigh to him with our mouths and honour him with our lips.
*We worship God, who is a Spirit, in spirit and in truth, for such the Father seeks to worship him.