Prayer

Prayer is like preaching in that it is a human act also.  It is a human act that God has ordained and which he delights in because it reflects the dependence of his creatures upon him.  He has promised to respond to prayer, and his response is just as contingent upon our prayer as our prayer is in accordance with his will.  "And this is the confidence which we have before him, that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us" (1 John 5:14).  When we don't know how to pray according to God's will but desire it earnestly, "the Spirit of God intercedes for us according to the will of God" (Romans 8:27).

In other words, just as God will see to it that his Word is proclaimed as a means to saving the elect, so he will see to it that all those prayers are prayed which he has promised to respond to.  I think Paul's words in Romans 15:18 would apply equally well to his preaching and his praying ministry:  "I will not presume to speak of anything except what Christ has accomplished through me, resulting in the obedience of the Gentiles."  Even our prayers are a gift from the one who "works in us that which is pleasing in his sight" (Hebrews 13:21).  Oh, how grateful we should be that he has chosen us to be employed in this high service!  How eager we should be to spend much time in prayer!

John Piper