Why Pray?

"Prayer is a love that connects us with Jesus and an ardous task when our lives depend on it." -Mary Lisa Patton

Prayer connects us in intimacy to our awesome Creator and loving Father, Jesus Christ. We can talk to Him like a best friend anytime and anywhere. We can tell Him anything, the good, the bad, the beautiful and the ugly. He listens. He cares deeply. We get to confess in prayer and ask for help. Jesus cleans us up, our skewed thinking becomes right and we grow in confidence who we were made to be. 1 John 1:9 says, "If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness." We get to know Him and His will for our lives that are obtained through His promises.

As a Christ follower, we are charged to intercede for others. In Luke 18:1 Jesus tells His ‘disciples a parable to show them that they should always pray and not give up'. We want to be lined in readiness and preparedness for all the good works we are created for. Prayer is a spiritual discipline where we experience more of Gods power.

Although sin can distract our communion with God, our communion with God is a reprieve from sin. Praying scripture and looking to scripture when praying is life giving. Hebrews 4;12 says, "For the Word of God is alive and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow, it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart."  When we lack faith to believe, we can confess our unbelief right where we are at and ask Jesus to help us trust Him even if we are feeling hopeless.

Three other robbers of prayer are the devils opposition, laziness/business and sexual immorality. One of the greatest tools of the devil is to keep us away from talking to our beloved Savior. And that is how come at times it can be such an arduous task. Doesn’t it hurt when the people you love are too busy sometimes to make time for you or may even neglect you? We don’t always think about this in relation to God. When we make time for Him, we are always refreshed and we are blessed. Let’s be encouraged to persevere in prayer, to walk in belief because we will see God work; He is faithful.