What Is Prayer? | The Opening Of The Heart To God As To A Friend
In this Article:
Jesus’ Model of Prayer | Where Do You Pray? | No Limits | God’s Assurance
Prayer is the way in which we communicate with God. It is the opening of the heart to God as to a friend. Daily prayer is as essential to growth in grace, and spiritual life itself, as is temporal food to the physical well-being. It is in prayer that you worship God, pour out your heart to Him, pray for your needs and those of others and thank Him for provision.
God is a loving Father who loves to hear from His children. We are to approach His throne of grace with confidence knowing that He is always ready to help us (Hebrews 4:16).
As born again believers of Jesus Christ, we pray in the name of Jesus (John 16:23).
Many Christians want to know how to pray well. The simple truth is that God gave us His word, the Bible so that we will know how to pray effectively.
Jesus’ Model of Prayer
When His disciples wanted to know how to pray, Jesus responded by giving them a model for prayer. It is commonly referred to as “The Lord’s Prayer” (Luke 11:2-4). It has some key elements to it. The four categories below summarize the important points that Jesus addressed concerning prayer.
Worship. Acknowledge God as your Father and worship His holy name (Revelation 4:11). Those who worship Him are to do so in spirit and truth (John 4:23-24).
Requests. Ask God to meet your daily needs and those of others. We are to ask God for what we desire instead of worrying and being anxious (Philippians 4:6).
Repentance. Repent of your sins and receive God’s forgiveness (1 John 1:9). Forgive those who have offended you and pray for them (Luke 6:28). Forgiving others is key to having your prayers answered.
Protection. Pray that God will protect you from the devil who prowls around looking for who to devour (1 Peter 5:8). Pray not to fall into temptation (Luke 22:40).
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Where Do You Pray?
Jesus tells us in Matthew 6:6, “But when you pray, go to your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen.” The best place to pray is where you can be alone with God, like your bedroom or any other room in your house. What if you are not at home? You can pray wherever you are! There is no set place where you must pray.
Many times when Jesus was preaching and healing the sick, He often left His disciples to go a short distance away to pray (Luke 22:41, Mark 14:32). Any time is prayer time! You can talk to God as often as you like. Whether you are in the park, on the train, on your desk at work, you can always whisper a prayer to God. It doesn’t have to be loud, it can be silent. Why? Before a word is on your tongue, God knows it (Psalm 139:4).
There are No Limits as You Pray
There are no limits in prayer. You can pray for as long as you like, request for as many things as you desire or pray for as many people as you want. There are no requests that are too big for God. The only limits would be in your mind. God’s desire is that you pray to Him and recognize Him as your source for everything.
God’s Assurance as We Pray to Him
We can approach God in confidence knowing that He will answer our prayers. He has made us certain promises as we pray to Him.
- He will listen. Jeremiah 29:12 says, “Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you.”
- You will receive what you ask for, if it is in line with God’s word. John 15:7 says, “If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish and it will be given you.”
- Your prayers are powerful. James 5:16 says, “The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective.”
Even with God’s assurance that He will hear and answer our prayers, sometimes the heavens seem silent. Why?
- We do not know what we are to pray for. Sometimes you have prayed all you can about a situation and you don’t know how else to pray. God has given us His Holy Spirit who intercedes for us during such troubling times (Romans 8:26).
- We pray with wrong motives. Our motives for asking for things are wrong and selfish (James 4:3). We are to purify our minds with the word of God so that we can pray with the right motives.
- We harbor pride in our hearts. When we demand things from God and give Him ultimatums then we are praying from a place of pride. We are to submit to God and make our requests in humility so that He will be gracious to us (James 4:6).
- We are filled with unbelief. When we ask God for what we desire and are not sure whether He can deliver, we are operating in unbelief. When we doubt that God can answer our prayers, we don’t receive anything from Him (James 1:6-7). Have faith when you pray. It is okay to ask God to help you overcome your unbelief (Mark 9:23-24).
- We lack persistence. We give up on praying for things too soon when we don’t see answers to our prayers. In this fast paced world, we mistakenly expect God to keep up with our pace. Prayer doesn’t work that way. We are to persist in our prayers because we have an enemy who doesn’t want to see them answered (Luke18:1-8).
God wants to answer our prayers. He doesn’t want us to remain in the dark about hindrances to prayer. We are to renew our minds daily with His word so that we may know what His will upon our lives is (Romans 12:2). When we know what He expects of us, we can pray better.
When you pray, have the faith that you have received what you have asked God for (Mark 11:24). God is greatly pleased by your faith (Hebrews 11:6).
