Heidelberg Catechism, Question 117
Question 117
What are the requisites of that prayer, which is acceptable to God, and which he will hear?
First, that we from the heart pray to the one true God only, who has manifested himself in his word, for all things he has commanded us to ask of him (Matt. 4;10); secondly, that we rightly and thoroughly know our need and misery, that so we may deeply humble ourselves in the presence of his divine majesty (Luke 18;13); thirdly, that we may be fully persuaded that he, notwithstanding we are unworthy of it, will, for the sake of Christ our Lord, certainly hear our prayer, as he has promised us in his word. (Eph. 3;12).
Scripture references for paragraph 1
Berean Standard Bible. Public domain text and source credits.
Matthew 4:1010“Away from Me, Satan!” Jesus declared. “For it is written: ‘Worship the Lord your God and serve Him only.’”
Psalms 81:88Hear, O My people, and I will warn you: O Israel, if only you would listen to Me!
Psalms 81:99There must be no strange god among you, nor shall you bow to a foreign god.
John 5:1414Afterward, Jesus found the man at the temple and said to him, “See, you have been made well. Stop sinning, or something worse may happen to you.”
Lamentations 3:4141Let us lift up our hearts and hands to God in heaven:
Psalms 145:1818The LORD is near to all who call on Him, to all who call out to Him in truth.
Isaiah 45:2222Turn to Me and be saved, all the ends of the earth; for I am God, and there is no other.
Isaiah 45:2323By Myself I have sworn; truth has gone out from My mouth, a word that will not be revoked: Every knee will bow before Me, every tongue will swear allegiance.
John 4:2323But a time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and in truth, for the Father is seeking such as these to worship Him.
John 4:2424God is Spirit, and His worshipers must worship Him in spirit and in truth.”
1 John 5:1414And this is the confidence that we have before Him: If we ask anything according to His will, He hears us.
Luke 18:1313But the tax collector stood at a distance, unwilling even to lift up his eyes to heaven. Instead, he beat his breast and said, ‘God, have mercy on me, a sinner!’
Ezra 9:66and said: “O my God, I am ashamed and embarrassed to lift up my face to You, my God, because our iniquities are higher than our heads, and our guilt has reached the heavens.
Psalms 34:1818The LORD is near to the brokenhearted; He saves the contrite in spirit.
Ephesians 3:1212In Him and through faith in Him we may enter God’s presence with boldness and confidence.
Daniel 9:1717So now, our God, hear the prayers and petitions of Your servant. For Your sake, O Lord, cause Your face to shine upon Your desolate sanctuary.
Daniel 9:1818Incline Your ear, O my God, and hear; open Your eyes and see the desolation of the city that bears Your name. For we are not presenting our petitions before You because of our righteous acts, but because of Your great compassion.
John 14:1313And I will do whatever you ask in My name, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son.
John 15:77If you remain in Me and My words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you.
John 16:2323In that day you will no longer ask Me anything. Truly, truly, I tell you, whatever you ask the Father in My name, He will give you.
Source and edition
Heidelberg Catechism. RCA English, E. R. Good & Bro., Tiffin, 1879. RCA English, E. R. Good & Bro., Tiffin, 1879
Public Domain (historic text); CC BY-SA 4.0 (Wikisource transcription). Source transcription.
Transcription licensed under Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0.
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