Lively Prayer
Prayer is crucial to the health of the Christian life. It is also closely related to encountering the Bible and caring for souls. If God speaks to us through the Bible, then we complete the conversation by speaking back to him in prayer. If we care for one another's souls then we will surely tell God about each other's needs, desires, joys, and sorrows. But prayer is so important, so integral to the life of faith, that it deserves its own category.
Prayer is more than just talking to God; it is laying claim to the fact that Jesus is present among the very same people who are praying. In Paul's letter to the church in the town of Philippi, he links prayer to Jesus' real presence. He says in Phil 4:5-6, "The Lord is at hand; do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God."
We pray because the Lord is really present with us ("at hand") to hear us and answer our prayers.
