The word ‘prayer’ is mentioned in the Bible over 700 times, which is not to mention the phrase ‘call upon the Lord,’ which is an encouragement to make speedy prayer in times of urgency. God tells us in the Bible that prayer is one of the most important things in our lives. When we persevere in prayer, we become spiritually prosperous and are prompted to serve others. We develop a relationship with God and our understanding of Him deepens. We get to know His voice and His plans for us. Prayer keeps us connected to Him.
Some pray when they are happy, sad, scared, or unsure – or they just pray a simple prayer of thanksgiving. Jesus prayed often. At times our prayers are still and quiet, and at other times we pray in the spirit of something called supplication, which means asking passionately, or in some cases begging.
Prayer is the Christian duty that God expects us to fulfil. He tells us in Matthew 6:5, ‘When you pray…’, which means that He assumed that we would pray. Jesus goes on to say, ‘Close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen.’ God rejoices when we pray sincerely. Sometimes it takes a while to get God’s response and sometimes it’s quick.
William Temple, the Victorian Anglican priest, said, ‘When I pray, coincidences happen. When I don’t pray, they don’t.’ Â
Prayer gives us answers and God tells us in prayer that He loves us and what we are assigned to do. Jesus gave us a beautiful example of how to pray which is (Matthew 6:9-13):
‘Our Father in heaven,
hallowed be your name.Â
Your kingdom come,
your will be done,Â
on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread,
and forgive us our debts,
as we also have forgiven our debtors.
And lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from evil.’