Why Pray ?

I am ashamed to say that I do not spend enough time speaking with God. This spiritual discipline has always been a struggle for me. I find myself continually moving — without slowing down. I tell myself, “Oh I can pray later. God knows whats in my heart and mind.” While this is true, it does not change the fact that prayer is an important part of every Christians life.

I have learned that just because you close your eyes and begin to “talk with God,” if you are not speaking with your whole heart, body, and spirit then you are just talking. Prayer is a deep and meaningful time and connection with God where you can speak to him and give everything over to him and he will always listen.

Psalm 6:9 says “The Lord has heard my plea; the Lord accepts my prayer.” I have always loved the book of Psalms because it makes so many mentions of praying to the Lord. God is always listening and he will never tune you out, but you have to be willing to talk to him. You can not simply expect him to answer a prayer that you can not even take the time to make.

I grew up with the concept of prayer at every turn. When I was a child my family would spend time in the evening reading Gods word and spending time in prayer. As a child I did not appreciate this practice I always thought that I could be doing a million other things right now that would be so much more fun than sitting there with my parents and younger brother. Looking back at my life sense I accepted Christ into my life I see that prayer has always played a large role and I have my parents to thank for that.

Corporate prayer

Private prayer time is always important to have, but there is just something about praying alongside your brothers and sisters in Christ that brings you closer together. At my church we have a time of prayer at the beginning of the service then we pray again later in the service as we observe the offering of tithes then again we pray at the end of the service. We always attempt to have different members of the congregation pray so that we do not have one person who vocalizes a prayer three times every Sunday morning.

Every week during a mid-week service, my church has a time of giving praise to God and praying for the needs of the church family and the world as a whole. On occasion many of the members of the church will go out into the community during these mid week service and share the word of God with the people of the neighborhoods. While this is happening we also have a group that stays at the church and prays for those that have gone out.

An article written by Lloyd Stilley, a graduate of SWBTS, gives three reasons for corporate prayer:

When the Church Prays | The Priority of Praying Together | Acts 5:1-5

1. Corporate prayer is on par with preaching and teaching as a priority in a healthy church.
2. Praying together is a vital key to opening God’s presence and work among His people in unique ways.
3. The tendency among believers, even among those who occupy leadership positions in the church, to think of prayer gatherings as the extra-curricular activity in the life of the church.

Psalms 66:20 “Blessed be God, because he has not rejected my prayer or removed his steadfast love from me!”