Prayer is the offering up of our desires unto God, for things agreeable to His will, in the name of Christ, with confession of our sins and thankful acknowledgment of His mercies. So the catechism defines it, gathering the elements Scripture everywhere displays. Prayer is the soul’s converse with God—the breath of the spiritual life, the chief exercise of faith, the appointed means by which the believer draws near to the throne of grace to find mercy and help in time of need. Its parts are several: adoration, in which the soul worships God for who He is; confession, in which it acknowledges and forsakes its sins; thanksgiving, in which it renders praise for mercies received; and supplication, in which it spreads its needs and desires before the Lord, both for itself and for others (intercession). Prayer is to be offered to God alone—not to saints or angels—in the name and through the mediation of Christ, the one Mediator, by whom alone we have access to the Father; and in the help of the Spirit, who teaches us to pray and intercedes within us. It is to be made in faith, believing that God hears and answers; in submission, seeking things agreeable to His will and bowing to His wisdom; in sincerity, from the heart and not the lips only; in humility, as unworthy suppliants; and with perseverance, men ought always to pray and not to faint. Prayer is both a duty commanded and a privilege granted—the astonishing access of sinners to the living God as their Father. It does not change God, who is unchangeable, nor inform Him who knows all, nor overcome a reluctant deity; rather, it is the means God Himself has ordained by which He bestows His blessings, so that He gives in answer to prayer what He has purposed from eternity to give, and the asking is itself part of His appointed way. To neglect prayer is to starve the soul and to forsake the believer’s nearest approach to God; to abound in it is the secret of all spiritual life and strength.