I pray to God because He is worthy to be praised.

When I approach God to ask Him anything, it seems that I am reminded instantly of the blessings I already have from Him.

I call to the Lord,
    and he saves me from my enemies.
Praise the Lord! – 2 Samuel 22:4 GNT

I come to God knowing that He is to be feared, obeyed and to be submitted to – but love that I come knowing that He is worthy of thanks, that He gives joy when I come in obedience and submission. It is not the cry of a slave to a master, or one oppressed to an oppressor or even a request made to a stranger. It is in fact a cry from a child to their Father, one made in confidence and love because of His relationship to me as He has always treated me in the past.

So I come with praise blended in with my prayer.

“Jonathan Edwards treatments of the nature of spiritual experience are unequalled. His work, ‘Religious Affections’ and his sermon, ‘A Divine and Supernatural Light,’ for example, describe in detail the sense on the heart that is the essence of a spiritual encounter with God. Yet Edwards speaks very little about methodology, that is, how to meditate and pray.” – Timothy Keller