It’s a Good Idea to Pray
Apparently, there’s a lot of people already doing it
According to some recent studies from the Pew Research Center, 55 percent of people in the United States pray on a daily basis. And whilst that may sound pretty impressive, what is even more remarkable, is that further research reveals that six percent of atheists and agnostics pray every day. And eleven percent pray on a weekly or monthly basis. Now, if atheists are defined as people who disbelieve in the existence of God or gods, then praying to ‘something’ or ‘someone’ may seem a little contradictory, but I get it, I really do. We all seem to have this deep, inner need within us to just cry out, to ask for help in a perilous situation, to express wonder at an act of beauty. We may not always be sure about who we are praying to, but the impulse still remains.
I pray quite a bit. But I’m still learning. It’s a life-time habit. I’m a Christian and believe that God hears my prayers and actually loves it when I pray. There is a wonderful verse in the Bible that even says He ‘bends down to listen’ (Psalm 116:2) to our prayers. Any turn of our hearts to Him and He is there. The prayer may be silent or just a few words. He always hears it.
Admitting to having some kind of prayer life may be a bit personal and confessionary, especially if one isn’t supposed to believe in any supernatural stuff, but seeing as an awful lot of people are already praying, one is not exactly alone in talking to the Big Man Upstairs. So, why do so many of us do it? Well, at the risk of over-generalizing a bit, I might suggest that deep down within all of us we have some sense of our place in the universe, and that by saying a few words in prayer, we are, at least maybe on some level, humbly recognizing that place. And that is a good thing. Humility is good. The world needs a lot of it right now.
The other good thing about prayer, at least within the Christian tradition, is that God not only hears the prayers, but that He may answer them. Now, although I can’t offer bullet-proof guidelines on what might need to be in place for someone to have their prayers answered, I would suggest two points to consider the next time we look up and say a few heartfelt words. Firstly, do we have any faith that God not only hears our prayers but will answer them? Jesus said that whatever we ask in prayer, then we will receive — if we have faith (Matthew 21:22). Secondly, are our prayers in line with God’s will? The apostle John said that if we ask anything according to His will, he hears us (1 John 5:14). We may not say all the words correctly, we may not even know exactly what we are praying for, God still sees the heart and that’s what counts.
In these uncertain, fragile times, our delicately poised world needs people who humbly think less of themselves and more of others, and who aren’t afraid to say they don’t have all the answers. We need more people who pray.
