5 Reasons to Pray

By -
The word "prayer" spelled out on 6 rocks, each rock containing one of the letters of the word "prayer"

Let's face it: Many of us don't spend enough time in prayer. Looking at recent statistics, the prayer life of the average Christian is likely almost non-existent. To motivate those of you whose prayer life may be lacking, here are five reasons why we should pray daily

1. It humbles us. 

When we hit our knees, we are reminded that we are not the ones who are in charge. God is. It reminds us of our absolute dependence on him. Engaging in true prayer with humility serves as an antidote to the pride that we see so prevalently in the world. Humble prayer is an exercise in being poor in spirit. Christians are God's children, adopted through Christ. In the same way that biological children are dependent on their parents, so also Christians are dependent on God. Wesley Hill states this well,

"If there is one fact that is obvious about children, it is their dependence. Unless a parent or guardian provides milk for a baby, the infant will die. According to Jesus, that remains our true condition into our adulthood, whether we are conscious of it or not. Were God to withdraw His nourishment from us, we would not just slowly shrivel but immediately cease to exist."

2. It helps us grow in love. 

Prayer helps us to grow in love. Prayer involves time spent specifically with God our Father. As we spend time in genuine prayer, in submission to his will, we will find our love for our Father growing more and more.

Prayer helps us grow in love. This is not only true for those who we already love, but this is especially true for those that we may not entirely like. If we pray for those who persecute us and mistreat us, as Jesus taught us to do, we will soon find ourselves loving them more deeply than we did before. Praying for them is itself a way of loving them. It is difficult to hate someone that you are actively praying for. 

3. We are commanded to pray.

Scripture repeatedly tells us to pray. Paul tells his readers to "pray without ceasing" (1 Thessalonians 5:17). Jesus used parables to teach his disciples to pray without giving up (Luke 18:1). Prayer is modeled well by individuals such as David and Daniel. Consistent prayer was both normal and commanded throughout Scripture.

Even in the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus did not tell the disciples, when he provided the model prayer, "IF you pray, pray like this...." Rather, He commanded His disciples, "WHEN you pray, pray like this......." Jesus intended for us to be a praying people. He modeled this kind of consistent prayer life with the way he lived.

4. It helps us draw near to God.

Prayer is communication with God, and we naturally grow closer to those with whom we communicate regularly. Andrew Murray puts it this way:

"The blessing of such persevering prayer is unspeakable. There is nothing as heart-searching as the prayer of faith. It teaches you to discover and confess and give up everything that hinders the coming of the blessing – everything that may not be in accordance with the Father’s will. It leads to closer fellowship with Him who alone can teach us to pray, a more entire surrender to draw near with no covering but the blood and the Spirit."
If we want to have this kind of closeness with God, prayer is not an option.

5. It is a way in which we can imitate Jesus.

Jesus was constantly in prayer. He often went to spend time in prayer. He prayed privately, and he also prayed publicly. If we want to be Christ-like, then we have to do the things that Christ did. Christ made regular time for prayer, and so should we.
 

_______________________________________________________________________

If you enjoyed this article, you may also enjoy these:





--------------------------------------------------

If this article has spoken to you, or if you’re ready to follow Jesus, we’d love to walk with you. Click the button below to let us know about your decision. It would be our honor to walk with you as you begin your new life in Christ.


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

7 FREE Christian Magazines

By -
Image
Did you know that there are good Christian magazines out there that you can get for FREE? If you like to read, but are looking for something to read in addition to books, then it may be worth your time to check out these free Christian magazines. Some of them are hard copies, and some of them are pdf versions of their magazine. Either way, they are free, and they are chock-full of good information. 1. The Voice of the Martyrs The Voice of the Martyrs was founded in 1967 by Romanian pastor Richard Wurmbrand. After the USSR took over Romania in 1944, Wurmbrand worked with the underground church, which eventually led to his arrest and 14 years of torture and persecution in Communist prison. Eventually, Wurmbrand was ransomed out and came to the United States. Since Wurmbrand founded the organization, it has worked tirelessly to keep Christians in the Western world informed about the persecution that our brothers and sisters around the world are going through, as well as providing ...
Read more

Inspired In English?: The Implications Of Peter Ruckman's Claims

By -
Image
  There are different beliefs within the King James Only Movement. I would like to explore two of them in this introduction. It is important to understand some key distinctions between these two groups, or else it may seem that I am attacking a position that I am not attacking. Therefore, I will draw a distinction between two different groups within the King James Only Movement. The first camp simply asserts that the King James Version is the best English translation. This claim could be labelled the "Classic KJV-Only" position. This is the position that was held by what appears to be the majority of people who advocated for the King James Version's superiority to other translations up until about the middle of the 20th century. Typically, a person in this group will hold to the idea that the Textus Receptus is divinely preserved, and the King James Version is the best translation from the Textus Receptus. Or, in some cases, that the Textus Receptus is the best Greek basi...
Read more

Atonement

By -
Image
Atonement describes the act that Christ took on our behalf to reconcile us to God by Christ's death. Every orthodox Christian believes that Christ's sacrifice atoned for our sins. While discussions on this topic tend to lead to lengthy debates on topics such as the extent of the atonement, the goal of this article is not to explore every argument on this topic. However, it is difficult to adequately explain the Church of the Nazarene's Article of Faith on the Atonement without at least some reference to some of these discussions. Therefore, while the main point of this article is on the Church of the Nazarene's view of the Atonement, references will be made to other, related discussions. The Church Of The Nazarene's Sixth Article Of Faith The Manual  of the Church of the Nazarene outlines the denomination's understanding of the atonement. Our sixth Article of Faith states, We believe that Jesus Christ, by His sufferings, by the shedding of His own blood, a...
Read more

"If God Existed, You Wouldn't Have To Argue For His Existence."

By -
Image
The title of this post is a claim that I woke up to from an atheist in one of our debate groups. It is not a new statement, to say the least, but it seems that this claim is making the rounds once again. Although this claim has been shown fallacious in the past, that doesn't stop it from being parroted again after a short cooldown period. This is not the first time this claim has made the rounds, and it will not be the last time. So how do we, as Christians, respond to this? In short, it depends on the nuance behind the argument. Let me explain what I mean. The claim that was made in a theist/atheist debate group If, by this response, the person giving it means that, if you have to argue for something, it must not be true. Or, at least, it must not be obvious enough to accept. However, this nuance to the argument is simply a non-sequitur. This is easy to show by simply parodying the argument. Take some examples: "If gravity were real, you wouldn't need scientists to argue ...
Read more

The Nicene Creed: A Short Commentary

By -
Image
The Nicene Creed is an important creed in the history of the Christian faith. It expounds the Trinitarian faith of Jesus, the apostles, and the early Church. Composed originally at the Council of Nicaea, and confirmed in its final form at the Council of Constantinople. Despite its importance, far too few Christians understand what the Nicene Creed is and why it is important. Because of this, I thought it would be a good idea to release a commentary on the Nicene Creed, albeit a very brief one. There is much that could be expounded that I will not do in this post. Rather, I will simply try to post in such a way as to help the average Christian understand what the Creed is saying. The form that will be presented here is the form that was finalized at the Council of Constantinople. We believe in one God, the Father, the almighty, maker of heaven and earth, of all that is, seen and unseen. The opening line of the Nicene Creed is a strong affirmation of monotheism. It asserts that there is ...
Read more