Friend with Friend

O the pure delight of a single hour

That before Thy throne I spend,

When I kneel in prayer, and

With Thee, my God,

I commune as friend with friend!



Fanny J. Crosby

Several years ago I read this poem in an article about prayer.  It was only later that I realized it was actually written by Fanny J. Crosby in 1875 as lyrics to the 3rd stanza of the wonderful hymn, "I Am Thine, O Lord".   These words, written so long ago, speak to the heart of the matter of prayer.  As evidenced by over 8,000 hymns written during her lifetime, Fanny J. Crosby certainly knew a thing or two about communicating with the Lord.  Blind from an illness as an infant, she understood how essential it was to stay in touch with the Lord. 

Along with reading God's Holy Word,  prayer is the method in which the Lord communicates to His servant's heart.  Prayer is how we, as children of the Lord, communicate with Him.  Prayer is never one-sided communication.  The Bible teaches us to speak to the Lord in prayer, as well as listen for the still, small voice as He speaks to our heart. 

I Timothy 2:1 speaks of four different types of prayer.  "I exhort therefore, that, first of all, supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks, be made for all men".  All four types are essential to the Christian in order to communicate with our Lord.  The notes from my KJV Study Bible explain each type:

• Supplications are precise requests for specific needs
• Prayers is a general word embracing various kinds of prayer, namely confession, adoration, etc.
• Intercessions are prayers to God on behalf of others
• Giving of Thanks are prayers of praise

I Thessalonians 5:17 encourages us to "Pray without ceasing".  To pray non-stop every day may seem to us to be a bit extreme.  However, consider this:  Prayer involves both spoken words as well as an attitude of the heart.  In light of that, we can move about our day with "non-stop praying" and communicating with the dearest Friend we could ever have.  How delightful is that!
 



Feel free to use this image

My friends, I am praying for you and

ask that you pray for me 

                            ~Pamelyn