by Ashley Renstrom
What is Prayer?
“You are in my prayers.” “I’ll be
praying for you.” Christians often share those words with others, but what do
they really mean? What is prayer? Prayer is a Christian’s way of communicating
with God. It is conversation with him, the communion of a believer’s heart with
God. Prayer is the work of the Holy Spirit in Christians. The Holy Spirit works
through the Bible; that is the means by which he fills us with God’s grace and
enables us to pray.
Prayer is not just rambling
words, as Jesus reminded us when he said, “And when you pray, do not keep on
babbling like pagans, for they think they will be heard because of their many
words” (Matthew 6:7). Prayer involves our words and our heart. King David
wrote, “May these words of my mouth and this meditation of my heart be pleasing
in your sight” (Psalm 19:14). In prayer, we want to align our hearts with God.
Prayer is not magic. It does not
make demands. Prayer is not a guarantee against suffering. It is not an
opportunity for us to show off. Prayer is not a last resort. Instead, prayer is
talking to the one true God. Prayer is a wonderful privilege, a blessing earned
by Jesus and granted to believers.
Why Do Christians Pray?
Prayer is an amazing privilege, a
blessing earned by Jesus and granted to believers. Prayer occurs when a
believer talks to God with heart and mind. We know what prayer is, but why do
we pray?
One reason Christians pray is to
spend quality time with our heavenly Father. Here on earth, we talk with people
on a daily basis. As we communicate with them, we understand them better and
build a relationship with them. The same is true with our heavenly Father. We
have the opportunity to talk with him daily about anything and everything,
spending quality time with him and growing closer to him.
We also pray because God directs
us to pray to him. He tells us to call on him in the day of trouble (Psalm
50:15), and to pray continually (1 Thessalonians 5:17). Christians pray
because God promises to hear and answer our prayers (Psalm 91:15). We pray to
God to give thanks to him, to praise him, and tell him our thoughts, worries,
and troubles. God loves to hear our prayers (Proverbs 15:8), and desires for us
to talk to him each and every day.
What Can Our Prayers Include?
Joseph Scriven was an Irish poet
who lived in the 1800s. He suffered many tragedies and trials in his life, including
the deaths of two fiancées and bouts of depression. After the death of his
first fiancée, Scriven emigrated from Ireland to Canada. While in Canada, he
received word that his mother had fallen severely ill. He wrote a poem to
comfort her. In that poem he wrote, “What a privilege to carry everything to
God in prayer.” That poem was later set to music and is known as the hymn, “What
A Friend We Have in Jesus.” Joseph Scriven nailed it on the head: we can pray
to God about anything and everything.
An acronym frequently used to
help people focus their prayers is ACTS: Adoration, Confession, Thanksgiving,
Supplication.
Adoration is all about praise. In a prayer of adoration we get to express our love for God and praise his power and majesty.
We need to come before God in confession each and every day. We sin every day and fall short of God’s demands for perfection. So we confess our sinfulness and specific sins, ask for forgiveness, and thank the Lord for his unending mercy and grace. Each time we confess to God, we can trust that he forgives us. We also ask for help to turn away from future temptations.
Prayers of thankfulness give God glory. There is much we are thankful for! We can thank him for all of the earthly blessings he bestows upon us, but do not want to forget thanks for our spiritual blessings as well. Thank Jesus for dying on the cross for you. Thank the Holy Spirit for the faith he has worked in you.
Prayers of supplication can be
for ourselves and for others. No prayer is too big or too small. We pray in
accordance with God’s will for desires for ourselves and others in this world.
No matter what we are praying about or praying for, we pray in the name of
Jesus and pray according to God’s will, for he knows best.
What’s The Answer, God?
God delights in our prayers and
he hears all of them. He is never too busy to listen. We don’t have to leave a
message on the answering machine and wait for him to listen and respond. He
listens to our prayers the moment we begin speaking to him.
Not only does God always hear all
of our prayers, he also answers all of them. God may answer our prayers in a
few different ways. He might say, “No, that’s not good for you. I love you too
much and have a better plan.” When our prayers are not answered in the way we
want, it does not mean that God did not hear the request. It does not mean that
God did not answer your prayer. When he doesn’t answer in the way we want, he
is answering in the way that is best for us. It is not always easy to
understand in this life. However, we have his promise that he will always do
what is best for us.
Another answer God gives to
prayer is, “Wait, and keep talking and listen to me.” While we wait, God draws
us closer to him and strengthens our faith. A psalmist wrote, “I wait for the
Lord, my whole being waits, and in his word I put my hope” (Psalm 130:5). In
this day in age, people want instant answers to everything. However, God does
not follow our timeline. God has his own timeline, and it is the best. While we
wait, we wait patiently, leaning on his word.
God may also answer a prayer with,
“Yes, here it is right now,” or “Yes, here is what you asked plus a little
more.” God answers our prayers with answers that are best for our welfare. He
loves us and takes care of us spiritually and physically. God knows what he is
doing. Jeremiah wrote, “‘For I know the plans I have for you,’ declares the
Lord, ‘plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a
future’” (Jeremiah 29:11).
We see God’s answers in our lives
and hear his answers when we read his Word. It is important for us to stay
connected to God through his Word and listen to him. It becomes easier to
accept God’s will in answering our prayers when we remember that he “is able to
do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine” (Ephesians 3:20). God loves us,
and we can trust him to answer our prayers according to what he knows is best
for us—because his way is perfect.