WHY SHOULD YOU PRAY?

BIBLE PASSAGE:
“If you believe, you will receive whatever you ask for in prayer.”
(Matthew 21:22)

MEDITATION:
Why should anyone pray? Because it is a good thing and because
it pleases God. It changes the hearts (for the better) of those who
pray. God wants us to bring our needs to Him; to tell Him what
we believe is important in our lives. God likes it when we talk to
Him, and He especially likes it when we pray for others.

When we pray, we are acknowledging the presence of God and
admitting our weaknesses without Him. The act of prayer itself
says that we are dependent on our Heavenly Father and cannot
be independent of Him and His presence. We appreciate how He
watches over us and provides for our needs, and it helps to keep
us humble and not arrogantly independent.

Prayer is a two-way conversation; it is our talking to God, and God
talking to us. As a Christian, we have a Heavenly Father who hears
and answers our prayers. When we pray for others, it does make a
difference; if not, God would not have commanded us to do it.

We should pray for an environment where we can live as godly people;
and not pray that the government should give us what we consider to be
our entitlements. We should pray for rulers: their decisions affect our
daily lives and the privilege of free worship; their decisions also affect
the peace and safety of our society as a whole.

Prayer is an essential part of public worship. It is not to be neglected,
or hurried through in order to get to other parts of the service. Paul
urged Timothy to make prayer a priority every time the believers
came together.
    I urge, then, first of all, that petitions, prayers,
    intercession and thanksgiving be made for all people.
    (1 Timothy 2:1)

We should pray for the needs of others (unselfish praying for God’s
blessings on them). We should offer prayers of thanksgiving; which
expresses our gratitude to God for answered prayer, for blessings,
for loving us, for sending His Son to die for our sins, for saving us, etc.

Paul tells us to pray for everybody (family, relatives, friends, people
at work, leaders, the lost). We should name them in our prayers.
You might say, “I can’t name them all!” Yes you can!

One night after praying for others (by name), I started counting
the number of folks I included in my prayers and it was much
more than I could have imagined. It taught me that when we
open up our hearts and pray for the needs of others, we can
remember more names than we thought we could.

We can never be too busy to pray. A prayer-less Christian is a power-less
Christian. Jesus Christ spent many hours in prayer. Sometimes He spent
the night on a mountaintop in solitary communion with God the Father.
If He felt the need to pray, then it must be important for us to pray as well!

ACTION:
How often do you pray? Are your prayers full of selfishness, or do you
pray for others? Do you remember to thank God for how He has blessed
you? Do you thank Him for answered prayers? How often do you include
the names of others when you pray?

HERE ARE A FEW THINGS WE COULD SAY ABOUT PRAYER
(of course there are many more thoughts we could include):
   – It doesn’t change God, it changes the one who is praying.
   – It begins out of desperation, becomes a discipline,
     and grows into a passion.
   – It is not begging, but surrendering.
   – It is not informing God, it is God transforming us.
   – It is going to God with tears and saying,
     “O God forgive me” or “Help me”
   – It is aligning ourselves with the purposes of God.
   – It is our invitation for God to be active in our lives.
   – It is admitting our weaknesses, our sins,
     and our desire for God’s help.
   – It is asking for God’s grace to meet the challenges of our lives.
   – It is not our spare tire for emergencies, it is our steering wheel.
   – It is not a mental exercise or a vocal performance,
     but it is a spiritual transaction between God and us.
   – It is not a monologue, but a dialogue.
   – It is exhaling the spirit of man, and inhaling the Spirit of God.
   – It is a time of talking to God as we would talk to a friend.
   – It is a time of listening to God with the silence of being in a library.
   – It is not manipulating God, it is asking Him to tell us what to do.
   – It is making room for God to do something new in our life.
   – It is thanking God for everything good in our life.
   – It is the medium for miracles.
   – It is an expression of willingness to accept God’s will over our own will.
   – It is asking God to make us willing
     to let go of some things we are holding onto too tightly.
   – It is making a ‘snow bank’ of concerns that God
     will melt and turn into a river of blessings.
Note:
We need to know that praying the same prayer over and over
is not wasted. Why not? Because we are piling up our concerns
as an expression of our sincerity and dependency on God as the
only One who can answer our prayers.
    The widow who is really in need and left all alone
    puts her hope in God and continues night and day
    to pray and to ask God for help.
    (1 Timothy 5:5)

We never know which prayer will be the one that triggers an
answer to our heartfelt concerns, but we know that if we fail
to pray (or stop praying) we cannot expect answers.
    And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds
    of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert
    and always keep on praying for all the Lord’s people.
    (Ephesians 6:18)

Pray,
“Heavenly Father, thank You for giving us prayer as a means
of communicating with You. Forgive me if I have not been using
this gift from You as I should. Help me to realize the importance
of intercessory prayer (praying for others). Teach me how to pray
for others and to pray for them by name. Remind me that I need
to pray for the leaders even if I do not approve of them. Help me
to understand that when I pray for bad leaders, You can change
their hearts and, or, their decisions. Teach me how to find joy in
praying, and to pray unselfishly.”

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