When we pray, it is not so that we can get what we want from God. Rather, prayer is a way to connect with Him and realign our hearts with His.
Prayer is one of the most important aspects of our lives as followers of Jesus, and it should not be taken lightly.
Prayer is not something we should only do at church or during Bible study. It’s something we can do every single day. Like any relationship, if you don’t spend time with that person the relationship will suffer. Prayer is a way for us to spend time with God. It is a way to connect with Him and align our hearts with His.
When we pray, we are inviting God into our lives and asking for His guidance. And if you’re anything like me, I NEED His guidance every day!
Prayer is important because it helps us to stay close to God.
When we pray, we are opening up our hearts to Him and He is able to work in us and through us. Prayer also helps us to grow in our relationship with God.
The more we talk and spend time with someone the more we get to know them. The same thing happens when we spend time in prayer connecting with God. The more time we spend talking to Him, the closer we will become!
The Bible says in James 4:8, “Draw near to God and He will draw near to you” (NKJV).
I can recall multiple times in my own life moments in prayer where I pressed into His presence (drawing near) and felt His peace that surpasses all understanding.
Prayer helps me focus on what truly matters. Prayer is important because it helps us see life through a heavenly lens! Recently, I lost a student in my youth group. It’s been hard and it’s been difficult navigating how to love on and minister to our students who are also hurting. Prayer has been a lifeline for me during this time. It’s allowed me to connect with God, hear Him, and feel His comfort while our church and community walk through grief.
Paul writes in Philippians 4:6-7, “Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus” (NKJV).
Prayer is important because it positions us to receive God’s peace that surpasses all understanding. In life’s hardest moments (and even in the good times), prayer helps me stay focused on what’s close to God’s heart!
So, why is prayer important in our lives? How often do you find yourself asking that question? Prayer is significant in the Bible and it can easily shape our daily walk with God. Prayer is more than just asking; it's about forming a deeper connection with the Lord Jesus. Through prayer, we find peace, guidance, and strength to navigate life's many challenges and struggles. Let’s dig into the profound impact of prayer and its essential role in our daily lives with Jesus.
For Jesus, prayer wasn't just something He did because that’s
what people who were Jewish. No, it was much more than that. It was personal, intimate, and very intentional. Jesus showed us a template for prayer, which was a template for meaningful communication with God. Through prayer, Jesus aligned His will with His Father’s and that’s what prayer does for us as well! When Jesus prayed,
He found clarity in the middle of confusion, courage in those moments of uncertainty, and compassion for the people He encountered. A Christian who has a prayerless life is more likely miserable and unlikely to reflect the nature of Christ to those they encounter. Prayer allows us to find the same immense, transformational power that Jesus did in prayer. It allows us to find strength and encouragement and connection with our Heavenly Father we would find no other way!
It’s easy to think of prayer as a solitary endeavour, a conversation just between God and yourself. If we do pray with others, it can often default to grace before a meal or congregational prayer on Sunday mornings.
Make no mistake: Fruit is borne from these prayers. But it’s important to also intentionally join with others in prayer.
The Bible provides three clear reasons that praying together matters:
1) Praying together unifies us with other believers. We see examples of this throughout Scripture. Some of the most prominent ones are recorded the book of Acts. The apostles placed tremendous importance on praying together, from the 120 believers who prayed together on the day of Pentecost (Acts 1:13, 2:1) to Paul and Silas’ prayers that resulted in their jailer’s conversion (Acts 16:25). Look what God accomplished through the corporate prayers of His people!
When we pray with others, we surrender our “me”-centred thoughts and instead focus on the requests we’re bringing to the throne together. We leave behind our agendas in the light of God’s will. As a result, we’re drawn to each other. We can be vulnerable, open ourselves to accountability, and grow in grace and mercy toward each other.
2) Praying together connects us with the purposes of Christ. The Apostle John writes: “And this is the confidence we have toward him, that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us. And if we know that he hears us in whatever we ask, we know that we have the requests that we have asked of him.” (1 John 5:14-15) This happens in our prayer times and as we pray with others. The Holy Spirit directs our thoughts and prayers and intercedes for us.
3) Praying together demonstrates our unity as believers and proclaims Christ to the world. This unity is how the world can come to know Christ and His love. And this unity is what Jesus prayed for in the final hours of His life: “’ The glory that you have given me I have given to them, that they may be one even as we are one, I in them and you in me, that they may become perfectly one so that the world may know that you sent me and loved them even as you loved me.’” (John 17:22-23)
WDNC