Mary’s Reviews > The Meaning And Purpose Of Prayer > Status Update

"We should never think that we cannot draw near to the Lord when we are weak, love the world, and do not pray. We may not be able to draw near to the Lord, but [He] can draw near to us...Concerning contacting the Lord, we are all failures. Peter went fishing, and we also “go fishing” like him. We fail, but the Lord never fails. When we draw near to Him,[and] even when we do not, [He] still comes to contact us."

"Although [Martha] complained b/c of the Lord’s delay, the Lord taught her to not depend on her timing but on Himself. The Lord said, “I am the resurrection and the life” (v.25). ...Lazarus’s condition was not dependent upon whether He came early or late. Thus, even if Lazarus was dead, he could be resurrected because the Lord had come. The Lord Jesus is the resurrection. When we have Him, we have everything."

"The Gospel of John focuses on these two points: God entering into us to be our life, and His desire for us to contact Him. The former concerns having life, and the latter concerns contacting God. [All believers have] settled the matter of life....After we are saved, the most important thing is for us to contact God."

"Since prayer is so important, real prayer must contact, absorb, and express God. Otherwise, it is not real prayer, and it will not move God to work. Prayer that does not touch or express God is man’s expression, not God’s expression. Such prayer is out of the self, not out of God. As a result, man may pray, but God will not work. "