Imagine if you could pick up your phone, call the most important person in the world, day or night, and know they would answer your call and listen to whatever you had to say. Prayer is like that, only better! Prayer is a direct line to the Creator of the universe, and He is never too busy to hear you out. You can talk to God from anywhere, at any time, about anything.
Why do we pray?
Prayer is an essential part of the personal relationship a Christian has with God. We speak to Him through prayer, He speaks to us through the Bible and through our circumstances.
There are several places in scripture where we are commanded to pray. We are told in Romans 12:12 to, “Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer.” I Thessalonians 5:17 says to, “pray continually.” Jesus taught his disciples the importance of prayer, and gave them a template to follow (see Mathew 6:9-13 and Luke 11:1-13).
“Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.”
Philippians 4:6 [NIV]
Now think about this: God, the Creator of the universe, wants to hear from you. Why? Because He cares about you. He wants to help you, and to bless you. If that doesn’t absolutely blow your mind, I don’t know what will!
I do not claim to be an expert on prayer, but I have learned some things about it over the years. I hope you find them useful.
God is not a genie.
Sometimes we pray as if our happiness should be God’s top priority. We ask Him to make a problem go away, or to bless us in such-and-such a way, and we expect Him to do it. But this is foolish pride. When we come to God with a request, we must understand that He is under no obligation to grant it. He’s not in the business of granting wishes.
Have you ever asked God for something, and when He doesn’t give it, you get upset? I have. Just as bad, I can think of times in my life where I cried out to God, He came through for me, and I acted as if He owed me what He just graciously provided. When God showers us with mercy and grace, we should never fail to be humble and grateful. Remember: We owe Him our very existence. He owes us nothing.
Praise the Lord. Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good: his love endures forever.
Psalm 106:1
God’s answer is right, whether we like it or not.
When we come to God with a request, we should come in humility, ready to accept His answer. We should have faith that His is always the right answer, whether it seems that way or not.
In II Samuel 12, the prophet Nathan informs King David that his child will become ill and die as a result of David’s grievous sin. David repents, and spends days weeping and pleading with God to spare his son. He is so distraught he won’t eat. When the child dies on the seventh day, David’s advisors are afraid to tell him. They think he might do something desperate.
But when David hears that the child has died, what does he do? Amazingly, his first response is to go to the house of the Lord and worship! David trusted God in the face of tragedy. Is your faith strong enough that you would react that way? I honestly don’t know that mine is, but I am greatly inspired by David’s example. Hopefully God will continue to work in my heart so that I can follow it when the time comes.
Prayer works.
It’s one of those great mysteries how God can be omniscient, how his sovereign will is always accomplished, and yet at the same time, he hears and reacts to our prayers. You might ask, “if God’s will is always done, no matter what, then what does it matter if I pray or not?” Good question! Somehow, God seamlessly folds our prayers into His perfect plan. I don’t know how it works, I just know that it does.
The Bible is filled with examples of God answering the prayers of those who love Him. One striking example of how prayer affects things is found in II Kings. King Hezekiah is deathly ill. The prophet Isaiah comes to him and says, “Thus saith the Lord, Set thine house in order; for thou shalt die, and not live.” (2 Kings 20:1.)
Upon hearing this news, Hezekiah pleads with God to extend his life, and God grants him another 15 years. Hezekiah’s prayer mattered! It changed things. Certainly God knew what was ultimately going to happen, but Hezekiah didn’t. Had Hezekiah not asked, he would not have received.
It ain’t rocket science.
There’s much more that could be said about prayer, but there’s no need to overcomplicate things. Prayer itself is simple. There are no magical incantations to memorize. No special equipment is required. Just talk to God like you would talk to a close friend. Make it a daily habit. Remember that He already knows you inside and out. He knows your strengths and weaknesses, your hopes and fears. Call out to Him with your requests, but also with your praise. Approach His throne with humility, and have faith that His will for your life is “good, pleasing and perfect” (Romans 12:2).
