“The Reformation was not made without these men named Calvin, Luther, and still others. God was laboring in allowing them to participate in his work. It was not by the brilliance of their virtues, wisdom, or piety that he accomplished his work with them. It was by prayer, at once humble and audacious. And it is in prayer thus understood that we are invited to participate, alone with God and in community. This prayer is at once an act of humility and an act of triumph. Such an act is required of us because we are given the power to perform it.”
Karl Barth, Prayer (2nd ed.) (Don E. Saliers, ed.; Sara F. Terrien, trans.) Philadelphia: The Westminster Press, 1985, page 41.
Related posts:
Pastor Note #121: Praying for Justice without Praying for Revenge
Pastor Note #120: James 1:27 & the Essence of the Christian Life
Prayer Note #62: Holy Kindness/Kind Holiness
Prayer Note #61: The Interference of God–A Prayer
Prayer Note #58–Burnishing my Clay
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Gary Chorpenning's Notebooks 