Prayer is the Key

In preparing a sermon for this weekend I was reminded that prayer holds a special and important place in our relationship with God. The scripture (Jeremiah 29:1-14), has the exiled people of God being told that prayer will play a crucial part in their future, first that they should pray for the peace and prosperity of the city they find themselves in and that his future plans for them will come about when they come to a place of seeking him with all of their hearts.

 A Christian from Antiquity, Thomas Aquinas said this on prayer ...

“We need to pray to God, not in order to make known to Him our needs or desires but that we ourselves may be reminded of the necessity of having recourse to God's help in these matters. “

There is nothing like prayer for deepening our relationship with God because it :-

Reminds us of our need for God's involvement.
Puts God in his rightful place.
Changes our perceptions of situations and needs and so affects our actions.

The exiles written to in Jeremiah had a lesson to learn and a relationship to get right. The same is true for each Christian and each Christian church today, we have a relationship to work on with God, a relationship founded in our prayer life.