The Power of Prayer

Pray without ceasing. That's what we're instructed to do in 1 Thessalonians 5:17. Prayer is a primary spiritual discipline in the Christian’s life. It is an unparalleled blessing to be able to commune with God in prayer on a daily basis. But, we so often take our prayer-life for granted.

Why is prayer such an important part of our spiritual lives? The gospels reveal that prayer was extremely important to Jesus during his days on the earth. We read of him often withdrawing from his disciples and the crowds to spend time in prayer with his heavenly Father.

Jesus would escape into the wilderness, trek up mountains, or spend time in solitude in peaceful places like the Garden of Gethsemane on the Mount of Olives. We see him habitually getting away to focus on prayer after taxing periods of ministry and also prior to important events in his life. If he needed to pray as often as he did being the Son of God, how much more do we need to pray?

Prayer serves a number of important purposes for us as believers. It's a tremendous privilege and unique avenue of talking to God, just as he talks to us through his Word and through nature. Rather than talking “at” God, prayer is our way of communing “with” God.

Whenever we feel the desire to be in the Lord’s presence, we are able to do so—no matter the circumstances or time of the day or night. Prayer is like a 24/7 hotline to God, and we are never put on hold or sent through a convoluted and frustrating, automated menu to keep as at bay. And Jesus serves as our perfect mediator or go-between (1 Tim. 2:5-6) in his divine capacity of high priest (Hebrews 7-8).

So what should our prayers consist of? The easy answer is: whatever is on our hearts. God is keenly interested in the fine details of our lives—the minutiae.

Beyond that, our prayers should acknowledge God’s sovereign reign, his limitless power, his holiness, righteousness, and eternal goodness. Furthermore, our prayers need to communicate our complete dependency on him. Every good and perfect gift comes from him, the Father of lights (James 1:17).

In our prayers, we need to confess our sins, and recognize our constant need for God’s tender mercy and grace. We should ask for his forgiveness and his ongoing provision of every material need and spiritual blessing in our lives (Matthew 6:8, 11-13). Flowery prayers and ritualistic repetition are unnecessary, because God already knows what we need before we ever ask him. After all, he is all-knowing and cares greatly about us.

Our prayers need to take time to focus not only on our own physical need for food, shelter, clothing, healing from sickness, financial and career concerns, or safety, but also for spiritual matters related to the spread of God’s kingdom on earth (Matthew 6:10). Unselfishly, we need to remember others in our prayers that their souls may be saved and the lives secured.

Moreover, we are instructed in the Bible to pray for our spiritual and political leaders at all levels of authority that God will be with them and guide them in their decisions. In this way, we are to offer up prayers of intercession (1 Tim. 2:1-2). It is God’s desire that we are able to lead peaceful lives and that all people may have the opportunity to come to a clear knowledge of the truth concerning Christ and be saved (1 Tim. 2:4).

So our prayers are to consist of praise, petition, and presence. If you’re anything like me, your tendency is to ask God for far more things than you thank him for. We need to be careful to have a balanced prayer-life, wherein we express our heartfelt gratitude and adoration at least as much as we lift of supplications or requests for God’s help and divine intervention in our lives.

It has been said by someone that, “A man on his knees can stand up to anything.” Prayer is powerful indeed. Let’s pray more fervently than ever before, and trust in the Lord to answer our prayers according to his perfect will.