There is something profound about prayer that Joel Beeke & James LaBelle capture in this passage of their book, Living by God’s Promises (Reformation Heritage Books, 2010) —

Of all the spiritual duties God has appointed for our growth, we have the greatest difficulty with prayer. Strictly speaking, prayer is not difficult to master, for even a child can ask, seek and knock. Praying is not difficult to do, either, for it can be done without hands, eyes, or even words. The place for prayer is not difficult to find, for prayer can be done anywhere. Neither is it difficult to find time for prayer, for a prayer can be as short as a single cry.


Indeed, the beauty of prayer is that we can give ourselves to it anywhere, anytime, and for any length of time. We can pray with our thoughts as well as our words; we can pray while engaging with others as well as in a moment of solitude. When we cannot be at church, we can still pray. When we are hindered from reading, we can still pray. When the public means of grace are denied us, we can still pray. When our eyes, hands, legs, and even our words fail us, we can still pray. There is not unfit season or place for heartfelt prayer to God. It should not surprise us, then, that no spiritual duty promises as much profit as prayer. Indeed, God has attached the most promises to prayer.

[page 146]