The Importance of Prayer

Prayer has been on my heart lately and it is something I have been striving to do more of each day. Prayer doesn’t have to be something that is complicated and difficult. It is something anyone can do anywhere at any time. I have been learning a lot about the importance of prayer in your walk with God, so I wanted to share what I have learned with you all.

Prayer is an Act of Obedience 

One key reason that we pray is because God calls us to pray. It is God’s will for us to worship, rejoice, and pray to Him as it is a part of our walk with God.

• “Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer.” – Romans 12:12
• “Devote yourselves to prayer, being watchful and thankful.” – Colossians 4:2
• “Pray continually” – 1 Thessalonians 5:17
• “And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests.” – Ephesians 6:18
• “Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.” – 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18

Prayer is an act of obedience. God calls us to pray, so we must respond.

Prayer is an Opportunity to Spend Time With God

Prayer is way of worshiping God. It allows us to confess our sins and lead us to true repentance. Prayer gives us the opportunity to present our requests to God. It gives us time to truly understand the heart of God.

• “Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.” – Philippians 4:6

Prayer is not just about asking for God’s blessings, but it is about communication with the living God. Without communication, relationships fall apart (we see this so often). So, too, our relationship with God suffers when we do not communicate with Him.

Prayer is an opportunity to share our life with God. Sometimes I think we don’t talk with God because ‘He already knows’, but I believe part of communication is sharing our life with the living God.

Prayer is an opportunity to express our gratefulness to God. We each have so much to be grateful for each day. Sometimes I get so caught up in my life, therefore not realizing truly how much I have to be grateful for. I need to be grateful to God for all that I have and were I am in life.

• “Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good; his love endures forever.” – 1 Chronicles 16:34

Jesus Prayed

If Jesus found it important to pray, how much more should we find it important to pray?

• “After he had dismissed them, he went up on a mountainside by himself to pray.” – Matthew 14:23
• “Very early in the morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house and went off to a solitary place, where he prayed.” – Mark 1:35
• “Then Jesus told his disciples a parable to show them that they should always pray and not give up.” – Luke 18:1
• “But Jesus often withdrew to lonely places and prayed.” – Luke 5:16
• “Then Jesus went with his disciples to a place called Gethsemane, and he said to them, ‘Sit here while I go over there and pray.’” – Matthew 26:36
• “One of those days Jesus went out to a mountainside to pray, and spent the night praying to God.” – Luke 6:12

It is amazing to me that Jesus found prayer so important. He valued the importance of spending quality time with God in prayer. I think it is a valuable part of our walk with the living God.

There is Power in Prayer

We are blessed to be able to reach up to God in prayer knowing that He hears each of our prayers.  In His omnipotence, He responds and we receive (although, his response is according to His will). That is the power of prayer!

• “And this is the confidence that we have toward him, that if we ask anything according to his will he hears us.” – 1 John 5:14

There is power in prayer, so we should take the time to pray. Pray your requests, pray over others, pray about how thankful for you. Pray throughout the day about everything because God hears and answers our prayers according to His will.

God loves hearing our prayers and He desires for us to enter into communion with Him through prayer. It is simply a conversation with our heavenly Father. Prayer is where you come as you are, so it can be from a joyful heart, a grateful heart, a struggling heart, a repentant heart, or a broken heart. Prayer should be in reverence of God and with a desire to submit to His will.  If you do this, it will produce prayers of trusting faith, knowing God will hear and believing He will answer according to His will.

Above all, I am so grateful that I can pray to a God that loves His children and knows what is best for us.

Let me know if you have any thoughts on the importance of prayer below!

xx,

Ashley

Related Reading: 5 Ways To Love Like Jesus

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