Why Pray?
Why do we pray?
We may all have heard throughout our lives, well, most of us from our childhood not to forget to say our bedtime prayers. I remember a prayer I used to say when I was a youngster and it went like this, ” Now, I lay me down to rest I thank the Lord; my life is blessed. I have my family and my home, I lay down to rest, I thank you, God.” Now, I know better, of course, and my prayers are more intense, emotional, and I also do warfare. So, what is praying and why do we pray? We pray for so many different reasons some of them are for our families, our finances among other things. We pray because we believe. We believe there is a God. We believe that He will hear us and that He will help us in time of need. We, know there is God, our heavenly Father. So we pray and talk to Him… and He hears us and He responds.
We, most of us have learned to recite the Lord’s prayer and we may pray it daily. Others may use it as an outline when they pray. In case, you don’t know what is the Lord’s Prayer, here it is:
Matthew 6:9-13 (NIV)
“This, then, is how you should pray: “Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us today 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 the evil one.
In the Gospels, Jesus teaches about prayer in Luke 11:1-4. He tells them what we refer to as the “Lord’s Prayer” as an example to guide us during our prayer time. We pray to God, YHWH as our Father. In our prayers, there are several things that happen, and it also reveals to us, who we are in reality. We need to have a relationship with him, our heavenly Father. In the word of God, it is written in James 5:16, “The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective.” With this, we can believe our prayers will be answered.
Prayer must be persistent
Prayer needs to be persistent, if we keep seeking, asking, and knocking; in our persistence, He will respond. It is written:
Matthew 7:7-8 (KJV) Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you: For every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth, and to him that knocketh it shall be opened.
In prayer, we have to deal with our needs, wants, our pains, and worries; we deal with the reality of what we are really asking for. It is very important, that we are aware of what we need or want. We can not come to Father with selfish ambitions, our hearts must be honest and sincere when we approach Father, as it is written in James 4:3: “When you ask, you do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, that you may spend what you get on your pleasures.”
Prayers for protection
Isaiah 54:17 no weapon forged against you will prevail, and you will refute every tongue that accuses you. This is the heritage of the servants of the Lord, and this is their vindication from me,” declares the Lord.
Prayer is protection, in our prayers, we know God protects us. It also shows what kind of Father, YHWH is. Our challenge to persistence is directly linked with His protection. When we feel overwhelmed, we feel comfort in His presence.
Seeking and receiving
Matthew 7:7 “Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you.
Prayer is seeking and receiving, and we must understand that Father loves us, He wants to bless us as well. In Luke 11:11-13, we read examples of how Father is. He is no different from your physical Father… Father, YHWH wants to bless you properly and freely. We pray to Father YHWH to receive. We must put away our pride because where there is pride, our prayers are of no effect. Here in Luke 18:9-14, it’s about the Pharisee and the tax collector. The Pharisee saw no need for a savior, but the Tax Collector saw his need for a savior. Pride is the only thing that can stop us from receiving from God. In seeking, don’t forget to praise Him in thanksgiving for all He has done in your life.
Praying for the lost souls
In prayer, we seek our Savior. We must be persistent in praying for the lost souls of our loved ones. In Luke 15:8-10, here we have the coin story. The coin represents a lost soul. If one soul is lost, we must persist in prayer for our loved ones, that they find repentance and salvation. As we pray for them, we also repent of our sinful ways:
Psalm 66:18, it states “If I had cherished sin in my heart, the Lord would not have listened.”
So, it is important to repent so our prayers get heard. The lost sheep is another story to describe our Father, in Luke 15:1-7 and the prodigal son in Luke 15:11-32. As we pray, and in time when your loved ones do repent and accept salvation. Jesus and father, see each person individually and they care for each one – all the angels in heaven will rejoice.
We can believe that our prayers will be heard as it is written in 1 John 5:14, “This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us.” If for any reason, you are having trouble with your prayer life because you find it difficult to believe – then ask Father to help you – Mark 9:24: “I do believe; help me overcome my unbelief!” Just don’t give up!
I would like to recommend that you keep a prayer journal. It comes in handy for the times you forget what your petitions are.
Blessings, Pst Gracie