Hans R. Waldvogel emphasizes the intimate relationship between believers and God through prayer, portraying it as a vital connection akin to that of a child with a loving father. He argues that true prayer is not a mere religious exercise but a heartfelt communication that opens the treasury of God's blessings, particularly the gift of the Holy Spirit. Waldvogel encourages believers to approach God with simplicity and trust, seeking not just blessings but a deeper relationship with Christ. He highlights the importance of being filled with the Holy Spirit and the necessity of prayer in every aspect of Christian life. Ultimately, he calls for a prayer life that reflects a loving and personal connection with God, rather than a transactional approach.

Selected Verses: Luke 11:13. If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children: how much more shall your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to them that ask him? Ephesians 5:1. Be ye therefore followers of God, as dear children. Opening: I think Madam Guyon makes a truth when she says, “Don’t let anybody think that he can get to heaven without prayer.” Now I think most of our fundamental preachers and brethren would call that heresy. But prayer is salvation, and salvation is prayer. The baptism of the Holy Ghost is prayer, and prayer is the baptism of the Holy Ghost. Fellowship with God the Father and the Son is prayer, and prayer is fellowship with the Father and with His Son Jesus Christ our Lord—but only the kind of prayer that God works. “We know not what to pray for as we ought.” That’s where God Almighty starts us out: “You don’t know anything; you’re as green as grass. And now, let Me teach you how to pray.” “Lord, teach us to pray.” They saw something in the prayer of Jesus that was different. He didn’t hang up his family wash when He wanted something from God. He just looked up and said, “Father,” and Father looked down and gave Him what He wanted. My goodness, what a dictation we have to make to God! How we have to tell Him that He made heaven and earth, and the sea and the sun and the moon and the stars, and how there’s no grass on Mars growing, and so on and so on, and we tell Him what He ought to do! And Jesus Christ had tremendous power in prayer. There was immediate contact. … Selected Quotes: I thought prayer was a religious exercise. I thought I had to sweat a little bit and make a lot of words. Instead of that, God opens His treasury and He says, “Now come and help yourself.” That’s prayer. … “How much more shall your heavenly Father give the Holy Ghost to them that ask Him.” Why, that’s His proposition, not mine. And I ought to be interested enough, if I’ve been saved, to be “filled with all the fullness of God.” I ought to present myself to God as “a living sacrifice” and say, “God, this is what Jesus Christ purchased for me.” … Oh, how long did I seek for humility! And I sought for purity of heart, and I sought for a thousand and one things. I used to pray like that, and it was good—the best thing I knew… I spent days upon days praying for other things. And then finally, Jesus Christ showed me what I ought to pray for is Himself. … We ought never to close a meeting until everyone is filled with the Holy Ghost. I’ll tell you, that’s what God would do if we cared enough for our Father. Oh, how saddened the heart of God must be when we don’t meet Him like that, and when in every meeting we don’t meet our God with that loving attention of a baby. … Lots of people pray, and they go to sleep at it, or they pray because they want something from God. I’ve known people that have spent weeks on end praying because they realized they got a blessing, and they got power in their ministry. Oh, what idolatry! That’s the worst kind of idolatry that one can… But when your prayer is a lovership with Jesus Christ because you know that “without Him you can do nothing”! You can do nothing any more than your little toe can lick the communists! … speaker icon Well, that’s prayer: when He is at home with you—when at any time, day or night, He is at home in your heart. … speaker icon Someone has expressed prayer to be “faith and silence in the presence of God.” And I tell you, there’s not enough “faith and silence” in the presence of God, because we don’t know Him; we don’t believe Him. If you believe that God is present, you’ll automatically become silent, first of all. You won’t want to hear your own voice, nor anybody else’s voice. You want to hear His voice. … Illustrations: The story of Sundar Singh. (from 3:00) A father’s delight in his child. “I’m not an adopted child. I’m not a stranger, but a fellow citizen with the saints and of the household of God, and a child. Even as He was a Son, so has He made me a son. And I cannot please my Father with my studied prayers, but oh, just that simple, ‘Hi, Dad.’” (from 8:42) The persistent seeking of a child. “And my heavenly Father, He can’t resist my ‘Abba, Father’; He can’t resist it.” (from 10:34) The delight of a child in his father, even if he is a convict. (from 12:31) The start of every Christian work was bathed in prayer. “I remember entering into Pentecostal meetings in 1910. The preachers were always hoarse. They’d never close their meetings before three o’clock in the morning; and then they’d get back next morning early to pray.” (from 16:33) The legend of the demon who stopped a revival by flattering the one saint who prayed. (from 17:29) The story of Mrs. Judd, who in the early days did not understand stillness in the presence of the Lord. “Mrs. Robinson said, ‘How do you dare criticize the most wonderful thing that God does among us?’” (from 29:47)