We have seen that our understanding of prayer depends inevitably on our recognition of who God is and who we are. Right attitudes in prayer depend similarly on that recognition of who God is and who we are. We can think of these attitudes in terms of their involving right attitudes to God, to ourselves, and indeed to others. The Bible has much to say specifically about these attitudes. Many of them are included in what have been spoken of as `the blessed attitudes' or `beatitudes' of Matthew 5:3-12. We will consider in turn what the Scriptures say of the following:
Then there are attitudes that are denounced in the Bible as hindering what is true prayer in the eyes of God .