Prayer is one of the most fundamental aspects of the Christian faith. Christians are called to pray constantly (1 Thessalonians 5:17), to pray without ceasing (1 Thessalonians 5:17), and to devote themselves to prayer (Colossians 4:2). But what exactly is prayer and how does it work according to the Bible? Here is an overview of what the Scriptures teach about prayer.
What is Prayer?
At its most basic, prayer is simply communicating with God. It is talking to God and listening to Him. Prayer includes praising God, thanking Him, confessing sins, asking for forgiveness, interceding for others, and bringing requests to Him. Prayer is how believers connect with and relate to their heavenly Father. Through prayer, Christians are able to pour out their hearts to God and bring their concerns, cares, and petitions before Him.
The Bible presents prayer as a relationship with God. Like any relationship, it requires communication. Prayer is how Christians communicate with God. It is the means through which they interact and connect with Him. Relationships involve sharing, listening, responding, and enjoying each other’s presence. This is what prayer allows believers to do with their Creator.
Why Pray?
There are many reasons the Bible gives for why believers should pray. Here are some of the main biblical purposes and motivations for prayer:
1. To relate to God
As mentioned, prayer is all about relationship with God. Prayer cultivates intimacy and closeness with Him as Father, Friend, Confidant, and Lord. Through prayer, Christians deepen their connection to God and unite their hearts with His purposes (Hebrews 4:16, Psalm 73:28, Psalm 42:1-2).
2. To seek God
Prayer is about seeking God Himself more than just seeking answers or help. It is setting aside time to pursue His presence and commune with Him (Psalm 27:8, Psalm 105:4). Prayer brings believers into God’s presence so they can know Him better.
3. To align with God’s will
Prayer helps Christians submit their own desires to God’s perfect will. As they bring their requests before Him, they yield their agenda to His purposes and plans (1 John 5:14, Matthew 6:10). Prayer aligns believers’ hearts with God’s desires.
4. To find help and strength
God invites His children to come to Him for aid and assistance. Through prayer, believers can find mercy, grace, and help in times of need from their caring heavenly Father (Hebrews 4:16, Psalm 86:3-7).
5. To give thanks
Prayer provides the opportunity to thank and praise God for who He is and what He has done. It enables Christians to express their gratitude and appreciate God’s many blessings (Psalm 100:4, Philippians 4:6).
6. To intercede for others
Praying for others is an important scriptural purpose for prayer. Believers can bring the needs of others before God in prayer, asking for His intervention, mercy, and help (1 Timothy 2:1, James 5:16).
7. To confess sin
Honest confession is key to repentance and restoration in one’s walk with God. Prayer gives Christians the venue to humbly admit and confess their sins before the Lord (1 John 1:9, Psalm 32:5).
8. To gain wisdom
Prayer allows believers to seek God’s guidance, direction, and insight. Through prayer, they can tap into divine wisdom as they bring decisions and dilemmas to God (James 1:5, Psalm 143:8).
9. To wage spiritual warfare
Prayer equips Christians with spiritual power and protection as they intercede against demonic strongholds and forces of evil (Ephesians 6:18, 2 Corinthians 10:4-5).
10. To minister to God
Believers have the astounding privilege of ministering to God’s heart through praise, worship, and adoration. Prayer provides the channel for offering ministering worship to God (Acts 13:2-3, Revelation 5:8).
How to Pray
Knowing why to pray is foundational, but it leads to the practical question of how to pray. Thankfully, Jesus provided a model for prayer in Matthew 6:9-13 with the Lord’s Prayer. This famous passage gives key insights into proper prayer.
1. Begin with worship
Jesus taught that prayer should start with worship and adoration directed towards God as holy Father. Approaching God and centering one’s heart on Him comes first (Matthew 6:9).
2. Pray God’s agenda first
After worship comes intercession. This involves praying for God’s name, kingdom, and will to be advanced on earth (Matthew 6:10). Itmeans praying God’s purposes first before one’s personal requests.
3. Bring your requests
While focusing on God’s agenda has priority, Jesus modeled also bringing personal requests to the Father, such as for daily provision (Matthew 6:11). God invites believers to make their needs and desires known to Him.
4. Seek forgiveness
An essential aspect of prayer is humbly confessing sins and asking for God’s pardon and cleansing. Maintaining a right relationship with God requires repentance (Matthew 6:12).
5. Offer forgiveness
Forgiving others ties directly to receiving forgiveness from God. Letting go of offenses against oneself should accompany asking for God’s mercy (Matthew 6:14-15).
6. Ask for guidance
Finally, prayers of guidance for direction and delivery from harm bring effective prayer full circle back to complete dependence on God (Matthew 6:13). Believers are to pray in faith while leaving outcomes in His wise hands.
So in summary, prayer includes worshiping God for who He is, praying out His will, interceding for needs, confessing sin, forgiving others, making personal requests, and asking for guidance and deliverance. This provides a model for comprehensive prayer.
Prayer Postures
Beyond prayer’s content, the Bible also gives various postures associated with effective prayer:
1. Bowing down
Bowing symbolizes humility and surrender before God. Falling prostrate or kneeling shows reverence and submission to Him as Lord (Psalm 95:6, Ephesians 3:14).
2. Lifting hands
Raised hands represent openness and reception in looking to God to meet one’s needs. The posture allows His blessings to flow down (Psalm 63:4, 1 Timothy 2:8).
3. Standing firmly
Standing portrays confidence in God’s promises and eagerness to do His will. It reflects relying on His strength (Mark 11:25, Exodus 14:13).
4. Looking upward
Looking up to heaven establishes proper focus on God. It expresses trust in His supreme power and readiness to help (John 17:1, Mark 7:34).
5. Closing eyes
Closing one’s eyes shuts out distractions in order to fix attention on God alone. It allows deeper concentration (Matthew 14:23, Luke 9:28-29).
So bowing down, lifting hands upward, standing bravely, looking to heaven, and closing eyes all can aid effective prayer. While useful, these postures alone don’t ensure successful prayer. The attitudes of one’s heart mean much more.
Hindrances to Prayer
While God earnestly desires to hear and respond to His children’s prayers, Scripture presents several hindrances that can block answers to prayer. These include:
1. Unconfessed sin
Harboring unrepentant sin obstructs fellowship with God and prevents Him from hearing prayers (Psalm 66:18, Isaiah 59:2).
2. Idols
Putting other loves and priorities before God forms idols in one’s heart that interfere with prayers (Ezekiel 14:3, Exodus 20:3-5).
3. Wrong motives
Praying with impure, selfish, or prideful motives nullifies prayers rather than earning God’s response (James 4:3, Proverbs 16:5).
4. Unforgiveness
Refusing to forgive others who have wronged you shuts off God’s forgiveness to you (Mark 11:25, Matthew 6:15).
5. Indifference
Approaching prayer half-heartedly with laziness, apathy, and lack of zeal shows disregard for God (Proverbs 21:13, Romans 12:11-12).
6. Unbelief
Praying while doubting God’s willingness or ability to respond displays distrust versus faith (James 1:6-7, Hebrews 11:6).
7. Misunderstanding God’s will
Praying contrary to God’s nature and Word asks Him to contradict Himself, which He will not do (1 John 5:14, Isaiah 55:8-9).
8. Poor marital relations
Disobedience to God’s marriage principles brings strained marital ties that hinder prayer (1 Peter 3:7, Ephesians 5:22-33).
9. Inaction
Neglecting to obey God’s clear guidance already given blocks further answers to prayer (Matthew 7:7-8, James 4:17).
So hidden sin, wrong priorities, impure motives, unforgiveness, half-heartedness, doubt, misunderstanding God’s will, marital strife, and disobedience can all block effective prayers.
Results of Prayer
While not perfectly predictable, scripture reveals meaningful results and blessings that can come from earnest prayer:
1. Experiencing God’s presence
Sincere prayer ushers believers into closer communion and intimacy with God (Psalm 16:11, Psalm 63:1-2).
2. Receiving supernatural peace
Laying requests before God can produce profound peace and calmness beyond human understanding (Philippians 4:6-7, Isaiah 26:3).
3. Obtaining wisdom
Prayer grants access to God’s boundless knowledge, discernment, and insight (James 1:5, Proverbs 2:6-7).
4. Bearing spiritual fruit
Praying believers become fresh streams of God’s living water to others as prayer shapes Christlike character (Galatians 5:22-23, John 7:38).
5. Experiencing joy
Time with God fills people’s hearts with His indestructible joy regardless of circumstances (Psalm 16:11, John 15:11).
6. Receiving direction
Believers can receive clear guidance, confirmation, and direction from God through prayer (Psalm 143:8, Isaiah 30:21).
7. Obtaining healing
Prayer in Jesus’ name unleashes His supernatural healing power (John 14:13, James 5:14-16, 1 Peter 2:24).
8. Experiencing deliverance
Fervent prayer activates God to intervene miraculously and bring protection or deliverance (Psalm 34:4, 17, Acts 12:1-17).
9. Receiving power
Prayer infuses spiritual strength and ability that enables believers to walk steadfastly with God (Colossians 1:11, Ephesians 3:16).
10. Obtaining forgiveness
Prayer secures God’s complete cleansing from all confessed sins (1 John 1:9, Psalm 103:12).
So through dynamic prayer, Christians can encounter God’s presence, gain spiritual peace, obtain wisdom, bear spiritual fruit, receive joy, experience direction, obtain healing, know deliverance, feel empowered, and receive forgiveness.
The Holy Spirit and Prayer
A key biblical truth about prayer that enables and enriches it is the role of the Holy Spirit. Prayer is not merely a human effort or discipline. Rather it is the Spirit who inhabits all believers who empowers their prayers and makes them effective and fervent. Consider the Holy Spirit’s work in prayer:
1. Prays from within believers
The Spirit Himself actually prays to the Father from within Christians. They pray by His power and prompting (Romans 8:26-27).
2. Gives access to God
Through Jesus’ redeeming work, the Spirit provides believers renewed access to come boldly before God’s throne of grace in prayer (Ephesians 2:18, Hebrews 4:16).
3. Helps in weaknesses
The Spirit assists when believers lack wisdom or words to pray correctly and intercedes effectively on their behalf (Romans 8:26-27).
4. Brings freedom
Where the Spirit is active, there is freedom. The Spirit liberates believers to pour out their hearts genuinely to their Father (2 Corinthians 3:17, Romans 8:15).
5. Gives assurance
The Spirit assures Christians in their hearts that they belong to God as dearly loved children which allows them to pray with confidence (Romans 8:15-16).
6. Teaches how to pray
The Scriptures given by the Spirit’s inspiration contain many revelations on how to pray effectively (2 Timothy 3:16-17).
So the Holy Spirit generates dynamic prayer lives from within believers by graciously giving assistance, freedom, access to God, and heartfelt confidence.
The Privilege of Prayer
In conclusion, prayer is a remarkable privilege and blessing for believers. It ushers them into God’s presence where they can commune with Him, express their hearts, intercede for others, find grace, receive His blessings, experience joy and power, and see miraculous answers. Christians have God’s ear and attention, so prayer opens channels for His power to flow unrestrained. Through believing prayer offered in Jesus’ name, believers can see great things happen. What an astounding blessing that humans can communicate with their Creator and that He listens, cares, and acts in response! The awesome privilege of prayer reveals the magnificent grace of God and provides the means for cultivating close relationships with Him.