Prayer is something Christians are called to do, and a lot of Christians comply without thinking. But what is prayer, and why do we do it?
Usually when I think of prayer, I think of long phrases, gracious requests, and powerful missionary stories. If you’re anything like me, it’s hard to live up to that standard. But prayer is not just some chant that we recite, nor is it a formula where we have to say all the right stuff. Prayer is simply talking to God. Even if we already know this, we often turn prayer into something burdensome, or we go to the other extreme and just mark it off our checklist.
But prayer is a special time of communication with God. A very personal and beneficial time. In Matthew 6, Jesus says our words don’t have to be anything fancy and God already knows what we need before we ask Him. But then, why ask? Why should we pray if God already knows what we need? It’s a bit of a mystery, but what we do know is that God responds to the prayers of His people. He invites us to depend on Him for small everyday things, huge concerns, and everything in between. When we pray, we recognize our dependence on God and experience relationship with Him, which He made possible through Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection.
There are many reasons prayer is important, such as confessing our sins and saying thank you to God for all He has done, but one of the things that makes prayer so essential to a Christian’s life is that it provides a way for us to give our burdens to God. Our lives are often full of pain, injustice, and difficulties, but prayer reminds us that we are not alone. God wants us to come to Him as we are—not with flowery speeches, but with all of our frustrations, worries, and tears. The Psalms are filled with desperate pleas and angry cries, but the book of Psalms always circles back (as prayer often does) to what the psalmists know to be true: God is faithful, powerful, and full of compassion. Prayer reminds us of how great and wonderful God is and that we can put our trust in Him. • Deami O.
• Have you ever felt pressured to pray a certain way or felt like your prayers weren’t as “good†as other people’s? Remember that you don’t have to talk a certain way or pretend to be something you’re not. God wants to hear anything you have to say, and He loves you just the way you are. What would you like to talk to God about today?
Give all your worries and cares to God, for he cares about you. 1 Peter 5:7 (NLT)
Read Verses:
Psalm 139:13-16; 1 Corinthians 6:19-20, 15:20-26; 1 Timothy 4:8
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