CHRISTIANNEWS.COM.- Talking about prayer is evident in the Christian home, the church and the Holy Bible. We talk about prayer as a means to gain wisdom, make important decisions, and live life as God intended for us. Why?
There are numerous examples of people using prayer in the Bible for the same reasons. In some of these cases, prayer is evoked to heal physical or emotional ailments and even victory over enemies in battle.
We can then conclude that prayer at some level is a conversation between the person (or persons) praying and God. However, to fully understand the sentence, it is first necessary to understand the communication.
Communication is the basic foundation of any relationship, friendly, romantic, business. Human beings use communication through spoken language and also non-verbal body language.
Communication is vital in the life of a Christian, not only in how we relate to other people, but more importantly with God. Our language, spoken or not, constantly affects our relationship with him and our ability to live his commandments.
At its root, there are three parties to communication: “the sender, the message, and the recipient.” In prayer, Christians alternate between the roles of sender and receiver. When we operate as broadcasters, we pray to God for some kind of spiritual discernment.
We send a message that God receives. When God answers our prayers, we become recipients, assimilating the message He sends.
The study of communication explains how prayer fosters a relationship between us and God, and with other people. However, this does not explain the need for prayer in the Christian life.
Having communication with God also does not mean that He is listening to us. How can we be sure? To get these answers, we must go to the Bible for knowledge.
Does God hear our prayers?
We know that prayer is our way of communicating with God. The Bible helps us further this understanding by giving us examples of how others pray and why they prayed.
A great example comes from Matthew 6 when Jesus presents the Our Father. During the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus makes a comparison between true believers and hypocrites. He asks those who follow his teachings not to pray in the open to be seen and admired by others (Matthew 6:5).
Instead, Jesus advocates a more personal and intimate conversation with God, one that is not heard by others in order to be heard by God. It is important to note that Jesus does not say to pray only in private, but that public prayer done out of admiration is wrong.
In this sermon, he goes on to recite the Lord’s Prayer, which embodies all the reasons Christians pray for.
“Our father who art in Heaven,
Hallowed be thy name.
Thy kingdom come, let it be done
your will,
on earth as in heaven “.
(Matthew 6:9-10)
Jesus himself informs us of our greatest responsibilities as Christians (Matthew 22:34-40). With this in mind, we can confirm that prayer helps us to live a life dedicated to loving God and others.
When we pray, we make our requests known to God, which helps us carry out our responsibilities efficiently. Therefore, according to Jesus, prayer is intimate, personal, and often private.
When we pray, we can look for things that benefit ourselves, but each and every thing should redirect us to the fulfillment of the first and second most important commandments.
This explains why we pray to God. We pray for who God is, our Heavenly Father, the one who grants us salvation, the one who guides us through life. We pray to live out his will as He has intended it for believers.
Like Jesus, there were many figures in the Bible who used prayer to communicate with God. We can follow all his examples of how to pray, when and what to communicate to God.
However, one question still remains, how do we know that God hears our prayers? The Bible also answers this.
How do we know that God hears our prayers?
The Bible in its entirety can be read as a love story, a story of God who cares so much for humanity that he sacrificed his son in an act of redemption. How do we know that God hears our prayers? He loves us.
We know that God hears our prayers because of the prayer accounts presented in the Bible. People tell the story of God answering his prayers, how they prayed, and what they prayed for.
The example of Jesus mentioned above in Matthew 6 is just one account of many. And there are lines in the Bible of God himself speaking, reaffirming that He hears our prayers.
» You will seek me and you will find me, when you seek me with all your heart «.
Jeremiah 29:13
Not being able to hear from God as we would with another person does not mean that we cannot find him. We also don’t pray to other people, which means our relationship with God will surely look different.
Our relationship with God is governed by our faith and not by our ability to see or hear him audibly (2 Corinthians 5:7).
This information lets us know that God hears our prayers. We can look at the evidence in the Bible and in our own lives of God answering our prayers.
God may not act when we want, or exactly how we want, but God acts when we pray according to his will. Knowing that God hears our prayers better enables us to communicate with Him.
What can we learn from the way people prayed in the Bible?
prayer is honest
“How long, Lord? Will you forget me forever?
How long will you hide your face from me?
Psalm 13:1
Psalm 13 is a great reflection of the human experience of suffering. David prays to God with questions. He seeks not only insight, but also liberation.
His words show that he does not approach God timidly, but rather openly bears his anguish. His words are so dramatic that they question God. However, David ends on an optimistic note, saying that he will continue to trust God.
When we pray, we can share with God our positive experiences, as some of the psalms reveal. However, we can also talk to God about our suffering. Just like the conversations we have with colleagues, everything we discuss doesn’t have to be positive. God wants to be a part of all aspects of our lives, including moments of despair.
prayer is constant
“Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God for you in Christ Jesus.”
1 Thessalonians 5:16-18
We are called to pray every day. Like any relationship with a person, what we invest in our communication is what we will get out of the relationship.
The more we commune with God, the stronger our bond. There is no time limit for Biblical questions about prayer. Quite the opposite. As Christians, when we learn to pray without ceasing, we will begin to see that God is all aspects of our lives. As difficult as they are, the benefits are worth it.
Prayer is not instant
“But he said to me: ‘My grace is enough for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.’ Therefore I will boast all the more gladly in my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me.”.
2 Corinthians 12:9
Paul serves as a great example of someone who prayed for God to deliver him from suffering, but God didn’t. God had his reasons and Paul was lucky to know why.
When we pray, God may not answer certain prayers when we want, how we want, or at all. We have to trust his reasoning and his timing.
prayer brings healing
“Therefore, confess your sins to each other and pray for each other to be healed. The prayer of a righteous person has great power while acting «.
James 5:16
Prayer has the power to produce miracles, whether God himself is performing the miracle or working through someone. As we seek to bring the kingdom of God to Earth, our prayers for spiritual discernment will set us on the path that God sees fit.
Meanwhile, we can include in our prayers, moments of gratitude, thanking God for the ups and downs of life knowing that He is always present.
The Lord’s Prayer
There are many aspects of prayer. Ultimately, we can conclude that prayer is vital to a relationship with God.
Prayer allows us to communicate with Him in a way that we don’t with other people. Through our words and actions, we have the ability to live a God-centered life like Jesus, or not. Part of the power lies in prayer. With this in mind, we can recite the Lord’s prayers with greater wisdom as to how we pray and why we should pray.
“Our father who art in Heaven,
Hallowed be thy name. Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us today our daily bread
and forgive our debts,
as we also forgive our debtors.
And do not lead us into temptation,
but deliver us from evil ”.
(Matthew 6:9-13)
Amen.
Aaron Brown is a freelance writer, dance teacher, and visual artist. He currently contributes articles to GodUpdates, GodTube, iBelieve, and Crosswalk. Aaron also supports clients through the freelance platform Upwork.
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