“Only he who is helpless can truly pray.”–Ole Hallesby From birth we aspire to self-reliance. Adults celebrate it as a triumph when children learn to do something on their own: go to the bathroom, get dressed, brush teeth, tie shoe laces. We continue this pattern as adults. We like to pay our own way, live in our own houses, make our own decisions. Until we meet Christ who challenges the very idea of self-reliance. “Apart from Me you can do nothing”. Asking for help lies at the very root of the Lord’s prayer. The prayer itself is a string of requests. Admitting that we need help and that we are not spineless whiners to ask for it can be a huge breakthrough for those who want to know God. “Prayer is our declaration of dependence” says Philip Yancey. Needing God is not a bad thing. Jesus knew this better than anyone.
