Focus: Why We Pray

Text: Mk.11:24

"Therefore I say unto you, What things soever ye DESIRE, when ye PRAY, BELIEVE that ye RECEIVE them, and ye shall have them."

Why do we pray? Does it matter that we pray? Is prayer a waste of time? Is prayer an exercise in futility? Well, let me answer you right away. Prayer is a fundamental necessity for all humanity, especially for the believer in Jesus Christ. Prayer declares in no uncertain terms that God is indispensable in this world, and that man is absolutely dependent on Him. Someone said it a long time ago that "if God did not exist, it would be necessary for us to invent him." It is in the place of prayer that we demonstrate our total reliance upon God. Only the proud sees prayer as a waste of time. Prayer requires that we be humble at heart. It has been said by another that "a day without prayer is a boast against God."

Prayer signifies the fact that man is not sufficient in himself. Man does not possess all the resources of life. The arm of flesh shall fail. Man's power cannot go far enough in handling all the issues of life. We are limited in wisdom and we lack foresight.

Surely, man needs his creator and the resources of heaven to achieve any success of eternal value on earth and in the sight of God. Prayer is a means of involving God in human affairs because man cannot do without God. Jesus Christ says, "For without me ye can do nothing." Prayer is a means of welcoming God into the human space to help us handle the impossible. Jesus says, "With men it is impossible, but not with God: for with God all things are impossible" (Mk.10:27). In Luke, we also read, "For with God nothing shall be impossible… The things which are impossible with men are possible with God" (Lk.1:37; 18:27). In the place of prayer we bury our worries and regain clarity and confidence. Paul says, "Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God," and he goes on to say as a result that, "the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus" (Phil.4:6,7). God through prayer reshapes our personality and recovers our psychology. Prayer quiets our hearts, soothes our nerves, and calms our storms. In the place of prayer we gain perspective, peace and power.

Essentially, prayer is communion with God. No relationship truly survives where there is no constant communion or communication. In the place of prayer we spend quality time with our God, we develop and maintain intimacy with God, and right there in the place of prayer we feel the heartbeat of God.

In the place of prayer we let God be God; we give Him space to charge and to perform the miraculous in our lives and in the world. The Scripture says, "And the LORD went his way, as soon as he had left COMMUNING with Abraham: and Abraham returned unto his place" (Gen.18:33). Communion with God involves meeting Him somewhere, away from your place. Step out of the physical into the spiritual realm of God. God is Spirit; meet Him there - in the spirit. Communion with God is quite enriching to the soul. We come away touched, blessed and favored. 

In Exodus, we read, "And he gave unto Moses, when he had made an end of COMMUNING with him upon mount Sinai, two tables of testimony, tables of stone, written with the finger of God" (Ex.31:8). Moses came out from the place of communion with God, having in his hands the laws of God. In the place of prayer we receive divine principles that help us navigate our way through life. We receive divine blueprint for successful living. Moses also came out from the place of communion with God, the glory of God radiating from his face. God's glory rubbed off on him (Ex.34:29-30). I once had that kind of experience. Fresh from the place of prayer, a mad woman saw me, and said, "See how your face is shining. Your education is of heaven, not of the earth." The mad woman saw something on me that was beyond the ordinary. The effect of prayer is that it changes us as well as things around us. 

God instructed Moses to build a sanctuary, and says to him, "And there I will meet with thee, and I will COMMUNE with thee from above the mercy seat, from between the two cherubims which are upon the ark of the testimony, of all things which I will give thee in commandment unto the children of Israel" (Ex.25:22). From there God would pass instructions to him for Israel. Jesus Christ says, "It is written, My house shall be called the house of prayer…" (Mt.21:13). In Isaiah, we read, "Even them will I bring to my holy mountain, and make them joyful in my house of prayer…for mine house shall be called an house of prayer for all people" (Isa.56:7).

Prayer is necessary. That is why we pray. Prayer is a divine imperative. That is why we pray. Prayer is powerful in its effects. That is why we pray. As a matter of fact, the efficacy of prayer can never be overstated. Prayer is God's means to God's end. That is why we pray. No aspect of life works without prayer. All of life is tied to God. Life is beyond us. That is why we pray, and I can go on and on. I pray you take prayer seriously. It is not what you do in your spare time. The role of prayer in our life is basic, critical and vital.

Jesus is saying to you: Desire, pray and believe, and you will receive. God grants those who delight in Him the desires of their hearts.

I pray God to quicken afresh and ignite in you the fire of prayer. And as you pray, bear in mind that God answers prayer. Prayer works.

by Bishop Moses E. Peter