Why do we pray in the first place? 15 Reasons
As I’ve embarked on this experiment of trying to disciple six people, we have just a few goals. We’re going to pray more and I’m going to help them grow in one area of their lives. In our initial email exchanges, we’ve already bumped up against a fundamental question: Why do we pray? Here are 15 …
By Seth Barnes
As I’ve embarked on this experiment of trying to disciple six people, we have just a few goals. We’re going to pray more and I’m going to help them grow in one area of their lives. In our initial email exchanges, we’ve already bumped up against a fundamental question: Why do we pray? Here are 15 reasons. Post your own in the comment section.
- God has always asked His people to pray. Check it out in Scripture.
- Jesus prayed, sometimes all night long, and He is our model – we do what He did.
- The tradition of prayer has been a cornerstone of the faith thru history.
- God’s people scattered throughout the Bible were always praying.
- Prayer ushers us into God’s presence.
- We are told, “Pray always.” (1 Thess. 5:17)
- Prayer reins in our overactive, worry-prone control-oriented minds.
- We remind ourselves of Jesus’ Lordship as we pray. It helps us not be presumptuous.
- We align ourselves with the Spirit, allowing Him to counsel us.
- We learn to recognize Jesus’ voice as we pray (“my sheep hear my voice”).
- We bring our petitions to God and He answers them. (2 Thess. 1:11)
- God deserves our praise. We glorify Him as we pray. (2 Thess. 1:12)
- Where the Church is advancing around the world, people are praying.
- The whole Bible is the product of prayer – God revealing stuff to men & them writing it down.
- The early disciples prayed all the time. They prayed continually for days after Jesus ascended.
For more on prayer, check out the “Prayer” topic on my blog.
Comments (68)
Leave a Reply Cancel reply
More Posts
Prayers, a preveledge to communicate with the heavenly father, the King of Kings and the Lords of Lords. its a great thought that he inclines his ears towards us when we cry out to Him.
Prayer reminds you that God loves you and He’s interested in every bit of you. I once told God I wanted to make a very lovely hairdo, and GOD DID IT! Blessed be His name now and forevermore!
Let’s add these:
16. Prayer is the place where intimacy with the Father takes place.
17. Prayer is the place for spiritual warfare.
18. Prayer is the place where I can truly be myself. HE knows it all anyway.
19. …to overcome temptation.
Matthew 26:41 Jesus said, “Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation. The spirit is willing, but the body is weak.”
20….to get help.
Hebrews 4:16 “Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.”
21….to focus on God, not our circumstances.
Psalm 77:1-12
Question:
I think of God up there just wanting to flood us with blessings, those things which are in accordance to His will, but He’s just waiting for us to ask. Do you think that’s an accurate picture?
Prayer is the constant connection and continuous communication for the sustaining and growing of our relationship with our Father. It is the place where we get to know Him in a personal way.
Prayer at its core is all about relationship and fellowship with God almighty. It is returning to the habit of Adam walking with God in the garden. It is our purpose at creation to be in relationship to God and prayer is our way as sinners to connect with the Almighty until we reach God’s restored creation in heaven. This should be at the top of the list.
what i see over here about prayer is very impartant.
i understand that prayer is like a phone charger.
because if you don’t prayer everyday you will be like phone without charger. a phone will die when uyou lose your charger so christian live is like that. you will not be a good friend with God if you do’t pray everday.
what i see over here about prayer is very impartant.
i understand that prayer is like a phone charger.
because if you don’t prayer everyday you will be like phone without charger. a phone will die when uyou lose your charger so christian live is like that. you will not be a good friend with God if you do’t pray everday.
There is power in prayer.prayer overcome our enemies,brought healing and defeated demons .prayer is a source of live .through prayer we move,we live and have our being .
There is power in prayer.prayer overcome our enemies,brought healing and defeated demons .prayer is a source of live .through prayer we move,we live and have our being .
Whatever be your problem; shameful, unbearable, any kind of worry, etc but as you pray, there is someone listening to you. even if the problem is not totally solved, by praying, the mind is diverted elsewhere while you are praying and finally you get relieved. This does not mean that God is not listening to you but there is a subsitude for your request. At least you get relieved by relating your problem to someone/God.God is the healer of your problem. He surely gives you an alternate solution for your problem; this means, your ability to think, manage things other way or behaving positively or changing your attitude or becoming positive thinker…. these things helps you to face any kind of problem in the future. Every problem and worry makes you learn more.
whenever there is a problem, we may hastily do something wrong, but as we pray we keep ourselves calm and act genuinely.
If you don’t pray,you not have peace, joy will not be your friend, you will remain empty,future less, a person who is not pray depends on his own wisdom, claiming to be created by God but not knowing Him. Is even a dead but living ghost. So prayer is GOOD lets pray.
Prayer is the key.
I thank the editor and the people who bring out their time to put people in order about prayer thanks once again
nice
I try often to pray three times aday,in order to catch the right time of our lord.I have a question for the people.why is it that the Lord say pray we don’t do it ,but if man say it we do. Is it not our Lord who have come to make a way for us to be like Christ,following him and to do ,be like him.I often wonder if we have the Spirit of the Holy Ghost in us because this is what guide us into TRUTH and prayer is the Key to unlock that door for Jesus to be there waiting for the answer,those who really want that closer walk must give up one self to be like him.
While reading the request of other people the word came to me to say.When we Pray,Why do the ones who know the way make it so hard for us to just asked the Lord for our needs even thou he know what we are in need of already. Great example is this: a publican and a ordernary person praying ,one rich and one poor,one who had every thing torn his cloths and spoke in an high modest tone ( educated words) yet God heard the prayer of the poor one.All God want us to do is asked and it shall be given, Seek (GOD) first and it shall be found, ,Knock and it shall be open to you,but in our hearts he searhces it in our minds he reads it (knows) I just do what he tells me ,Love him first,love my fella man second and help each other in spite of all things that are not good. I LOVE my SAVIOR and I try hard to be what he wants me to be, not what i want from him ,he said it is mine already.
Just what’s been on my mind for so long ! Thanks for that response about the republican. God bless u. I’m encouraged.
Prayer! Like water, it is what quenches every thirsty soul.
When i pray i experience the presence of god, it is i conversation between me and god. I thank god by praying, i ask for things to god by a prayer.
Prayer is a weapon God has made available for us, to destroy the works of the enemy.
i love ur side
Prayer is a means of communicating with divinity, a network that never reply service busy or service not available. But always responding. No service failure. Use this number J.E.S.U.S call now. Or send your tex message. How i wish my relative who are blindfolded with islam will discover this simple number.
PRAYER HAS SAVED ME MANY TIMES. PRAYER IS LIFE
Send me more
Prayer is the indispensable daily tonic that the spirit man needs to energize a christian to conquer all the foes on the battle field of temptation, discouragement, lack, powerlessness, opposition and all wiles of the devil.
tgg
nice nice nice good good good
Here are some thoughts.
God wants us to pray. (commanded)
Jesus always prayed.
We cannot be Christians without prayer. (essential)
Prayer is not just to ask for things, but a conversation with a loving father.
It is something that we can give back to God.
Prayer reminds us that He loves us.
Prayer reminds us of what He has done already.
Prayer helps us see that it was God who answered. (Specific prayers)
Prayer helps us remember that we need God.
Prayer gives us forgiveness.
Prayer gives us healing.
Prayer moves the immovable.
With prayer we can help others.
It encourages others
It releases our burdens.
It helps us in ways we cannot see. (Lifts the spirit)
Prayer is one of the most effective weapons.
God speaks to us in prayer. (wisdom and guidance)
Prayer gives us courage and peace (God is in control)
We learn to recognize the voice of God
Prayer helps us understand Gods Word
Prayer gives us strength to overcome temptation
Prayer is the fuel that causes the engine of life to turn /rollover.
Nice post the lord is there always
People should not treat prayers like a fire extinguisher
i have just ask why do we pray
why do we pray
we pray to thank god for helping someone in problem we pray to god to stop those who are going in the wrong path
I have ask god to help me in the CPE exams and he did it and i have got hindu giris college blessed be
his name forever
sorry hindu girl college
it is sin not to pray
post office box 664,
takoradi
prayer is enforcing the will of God
It still makes no sense to me.
God has already planned everything.
He will answer prayer if He feels like it, not because we pray or pray a lot.
We cannot change what He has decided on.
Even our salvation or not is already determined.
There is no point in praying. You do not hear from God when you pray.
We are simply puppets with no choice or power.
No matter how hard we try to talk to him or hear from him, it makes no difference.
Mimi, I agree with your comment. If there is no rain then people pray. If there is hardship people pray. Why ask him/her to change his/her mind as the problem was organanised (created)by him/her.
Prayer is not an instrument to request God for our needs. May be we can remind him with prayer if he did not organize something right. Why should we assume that he knows everything.. There are white blood cells in the body to fight with the cells that cause illness. If there is no illness there is no need to ask for good health. Which means I believe that every thing is not organized and not created with out troubles and difficulties. So we keep reminding him with prayers what to do and what not.. Does it make any sense?
Mimi, we are not puppets or robot, God gave us a freewill, freedom to decide or choose…but remember that in every decision and choices we made there is a consecquences…if you are reading a bible Adan & Eve choose to disobey God and the consecquences are poverty and spiritual death…but bec. of His great love towards his people He gave his only son Jesus…so everyone who believed in Him and accept Him as personal savior shall not perish but have abundant and everlasting life.John 3:16
maybe you didn’t hear God because you didnt establish yet a relationship with Him.. i encourage you to read a bible…esp. in the book of John.
comments are just great
Prayer can change ones destiny. It happened to Jacob and Jabez in the Bible.Jacob fought and said ‘ I will not leave you except you bless me’ and God changed his name and destiny. Jabez prayed for the enlargement of his coast and God changed his name for good and enlarged his coast.i came from a bad foundation where there were covenants of not getting married and living well in life but through prayers and deliverance ,I married and living well today. The Bible said in Jeremiah 29:11 ‘ for I know the thoughts that I think toward you , saith The Lord, thoughts of peace, and not of evil ,to give you an expected end’. God created us well, the afflictions and most of the problems we face are from our foundations not God,s making. With deliverance prayers, they would be broken ,the yokes would be destroyed because of the anointing, curses would be broken and we shall be set free and live well to the glory of God.
we pray so that we can have the key to successful christian life. to communicate with God as a friend and to recognize his voice when he speaks to us.
Firstly it is a command.It is a medium of expressing our heart desire to GOD .Prayer is arrows to curtail d devil nd its fallen angels.In d book Jer.50:25,God has armoury,nd thru prayers we make release his weapons against all our enemies.The world is a battle field nd if we are nt prayerful we make ourselves prey Eph.6;10_12.I advice evry believer to pray always.
Need ways to teach vocational bible school in the month of July.Give me some advice of how to teach class. The theme Diving deeper for God Treasures!
prayer is like a MASTER KEY that is not limited to any lock. whatever situation you may find yourself , just pray in the name of Jesus, God will cause all grace to abound for your prayers to be answered.
Why do we communicate
You are very right GOD bless you more.
You are very right GOD bless you more.
You are very right GOD bless you more.
I love the passage that says GOD speak with us at prayer.
You can’t live as a Christian if you don’t pray. Prayer is the food for Christians.
Pray without ceasing because the devil is restless over us always
Prayer is an asset we Christian have. It’s gives us a neutral background and a free access to communicate to our God irrespective of our status. This communication goes on to form a lasting relationship with God. With this relationship through prayers, we find ourselves having an intimate love of God which cannot be separated. You can imagine when someone loves you intimately, its always a great and beautiful relationship. This can be achieved only through prayer.
Prayer is God’s appointed way off obtaining things. It attracts miracles.. it is the source of POWER..”NO PRAYER, NO POWER ”
i am the one who shall deside your fait. Hmm… You shall go to HELL
You shall all die!
You shall be forgotten!!!
– l love this straightforward brief reasons why we pray. I hope to use it during our daily devotion as well as teach my Sunday school class.
– the day l for revelation why l need to orat, l have never stopped.
– Few years ago, l asked God to remind me to pray daily just like l feel uncomfortable whenever l don’t brush. I told him to remind me whenever l don’t pray. Incredible but true, hardly, yes, does a day go by without me praying. God has answered my prayer.
– Another reason why we pray is that answered prayer(s) serve as a testimony when shared to build up the faith of another believed or to strengthen a weak person.
Why we pray, is to repair the broken foundation our forefathers left on. So every prayer is a spiritual decision made. Prayer is not a thing that pleases a man most time we fine it difficult to pray bc it is not our personal business.
prayer is a mean of communicating wilth the lord and can be used to over come temptation