What is Prayer

According to the Oxford Dictionary, prayer is a solemn request for help or expression of thanks addressed to God or another deity. It is also a religious service, especially a regular one where people gather to pray. Lastly is an earnest hope or wish. For Christians, prayer is communication with God. We do this by praising him, confessing our sins, thanking him, and asking him for our needs and desires. The reason we pray is so that we engage in love with our maker. He graciously invites us into a close covenant relationship with him through the person and work of Christ.

In Matthew 6, Jesus taught us how to pray, “when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by men. When you pray, go into your room, close the door, and pray to your unseen Father.” From Jesus’ words, prayer is not for show, and it is okay if it is not long. It is a private time between us and God. It doesn’t mean we should not pray with others, but we should be sincere and have the right motives as we pray. Prayer is central to the Christian life as we grow and have intimacy with God.

The Lord’s Prayer,

Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name.

Thy kingdom come, thy will be done in earth as it is in heaven 

give us is day our daily bread.

And forgive us our debt as we forgive our debtors.

And lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil. 

For thine is the kingdom, the power, and  the glory forever

Amen

Why do we then pray? Prayer aligns our hearts with God and to seek his guidance in the moments of our days. The Bible shows us prayers from men who trusted God to help them in various ways. As a witness to Christ, we long to seek God’s heart in everything as we pray. A place we can seek God, and he answers us. Prayer helps us gain an understanding of God’s loving nature. We can feel that love as we speak daily to him and seek guidance. Prayer gives us the strength to avoid temptation. Through prayer, we can overcome temptations to sin and align ourselves to the will of God for us. The work of the holy spirit starts when we begin to pray. His work in us makes us see the miracles of God in our lives and helps us accept God’s will for us. It is by praying that we become more like Jesus.

Through prayer, we can receive the power to align with God. We can experience his life-changing presence in our lives. Even though life gets busy, prayer is something God wants from us, and it is something that can do a tremendous amount of good for us. A well-known hymn says: “What a privilege to carry everything to God in prayer. Oh, what peace we often forfeit. Oh, what needless pain we bear. All because we do not carry everything to God in prayer.” Prayer can be as simple as the Lord’s prayer. Let the Holy Spirit lead you every time you pray.