PRAYER:

1. communion with God; first and foremost, it is simply an intimate experience of His presence, connecting with Him a very real way, sharing time with Him, without even the need for words. [Psalm 62:5-6 NASB, Matthew 28:20b]

This is a big one.  In my opinion, the three core sources to growth/maturity that the Lord has given us are Scriptures, Prayer, and Community (in addition to other great resources, like the sacraments).

We tackled Scripture in episodes 3.01 and 3.02 of this season. Now, over the next two episodes, we look at prayer.  What is prayer exactly, according to the Bible?  Why should we pray, what are the benefits?  And how does prayer work, what are some of the details of this concept?  We also attempt to answer questions such as 'what does it mean to pray without ceasing?' and on 'what basis does God grant requests?'.

0:00 - a quick review of preceding, connected unpacking concepts and preview of the topic of prayer.

8:57 - getting into the original wording and foundational meanings of prayer, and coming to a preliminary conclusion on the definition of prayer

45:33 - looking at some of the powerful benefits of prayer, as well as some of the other, important factors that play into prayer.

And be on the look-out for the the second episode on prayer, we dive deeper into the interworkings, methods, and results of prayer.