What Are The Three Meanings Of Prayer?

Good Morning,

I have a book by Harry Emerson Fosdick in my library that I inherited from my Grandfather. It was originally published in 1915  and I just recently picked it up to read and wanted to share some of its insights with you this morning. Fosdick once wrote that “Prayer is not a technique but a soul’s sincere desire.” He believed prayer has three meanings, three movements of the heart, each revealing a different dimension of our life with God: prayer as aspiration, prayer as communion and prayer as cooperation. These three meanings form a kind of Trinitarian rhythm: The Father calls us to aspire toward His holiness. The Son opens communion with God. The Spirit empowers cooperation with God’s work in the world. This morning we explore each meaning as a doorway into deeper life in the Messiah as we consider our Soul’s native tongue even as we ask, What Are The Three Meanings Of Prayer?

Scripture Readings

• Psalm 27:8 — “You have said, ‘Seek my face.’ My heart says to you, ‘Your face, LORD, do I seek.’”
• Romans 8:26–27 — The Spirit intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words.
• Luke 11:1–4 — “Lord, teach us to pray.”

Message In Three Parts: 

Prayer as Aspiration — The Heart Reaching Toward God

Fosdick taught that prayer begins long before words. It begins in the upward reach of the soul, the longing for God that rises like incense. This is the prayer of Psalm 27:8: “You have said, ‘Seek my face.’ My heart says to you, ‘Your face, LORD, do I seek.’” Aspiration is prayer in its earliest form: it is the sigh for forgiveness, the longing for holiness, the desire to be made whole, the ache for God’s presence.  Tim Keller often said that prayer begins with “the reorientation of our desires.” Aspiration is exactly that, the Spirit awakening hunger for God.

Prayer as Communion — The Life Shared With God

Fosdick’s second meaning is the heart of Christian prayer: communion. Communion is not asking, it is being with. It is the quiet companionship of God in the ordinary moments of life. Jesus models this in Luke 11: He prayed not to perform but to abide. He prayed because He lived in continual fellowship with the Father. N.T. Wright describes prayer as “the life of the age to come breathed into the present.” Communion is exactly that, the foretaste of resurrection life now. Communion is: Silence before God. listening, resting, dwelling and being known and loved.

Prayer as Cooperation — Joining God’s Work in the World

The third meaning is the most active: cooperation. Fosdick believed prayer is not escape from life but empowerment for life. It is aligning our will with God’s will so that His purposes may be done through us. Romans 8 tells us the Spirit intercedes in us, shaping our desires, strengthening our obedience, guiding our steps. Cooperation is: Intercession, service, obedience, advocacy, sacrifice and mission. It is the prayer of Isaiah: “Here am I, send me.” It is the prayer of Jesus: “Your kingdom come, Your will be done.”

And So, when we hold these three meanings together, prayer becomes a full life: Aspiration, the soul reaching upward. Aspiration is the prayer of the prodigal turning home, the prayer of Nicodemus coming at night, the prayer of the Samaritan woman thirsting for living water. It is the prayer of every seeker in our pews who cannot yet articulate faith but feels its pull.   Communion, the soul resting in God. Communion is the prayer of Mary sitting at Jesus’ feet, of John leaning on His chest, of the disciples walking the Emmaus road unaware that their hearts were burning. It is the prayer of saints who discover that God is not merely above them but with them   Cooperation, the soul moving outward in mission. Cooperation is the prayer of Moses standing before Pharaoh, of Elijah confronting idolatry, of Paul carrying the gospel to the nations. It is the prayer of every believer who says, “Lord, use my life for Your glory.”  This is the life of the Messiah formed in us.

Pray Father that You awaken in us the aspiration that longs for Your holiness. Pray Lord Jesus, that You draw us into communion with Your heart. Pray in the Holy Spirit, that You empower us to cooperate with Your work in the world. Pray God, that You make our desires holy, our fellowship deep, and our obedience joyful. Pray You teach us to pray not only with our words but with our lives. Amen.

Blessings,

John Lawson