The Importance of Prayer

My Friends,

How important is prayer?  I guess the first question I should ask is "what is prayer?".  Is it only talking to God or is there something behind prayer that is more powerful than a conversation?  I must admit that my prayer life of recent days has diminished greatly.  I have no problem talking to others ABOUT God and about the things of God but when it comes to talking TO God, I seem to have lost much of my desire for it.

This attitude is wrong.  A prayerless Christian is worse off than a weaponless soldier.  We thrive off of prayer. But what is it about prayer that makes it so important?  And what is it about prayer that you need in your life as a follower of Christ that helps to shield you against the urge to die off and leave your passion behind?

Prayer is more than a conversation.  It is a life-line.  It is you and I coming to our knees and speaking with the Lord and King of life.  He is the Master of creation and our Father.  And prayer is when we remember that and we seek an audience with Him.  Prayer should not be an obligation before you eat, and the phrase "I'll pray for you" should not be said lightly.

In fact, allow me (since this is my blog, after all) to pose a question: when was the last time that you told someone you'd pray for them and then neglected to?  When was the last time you made that sacred promise to petition Almighty God on someone else's behalf and failed to follow through?  In truth, I have failed in this much more than I'd like.  And it is shameful.

It is disgraceful, friends, how we throw around prayer.  We speak as if its of the utmost importance and then we act as if its only an occassional ritual; one that we forget half the time anyway.

What I would challenge you all to do is take your prayer life seriously.  It is not just talking to God.  It is MUCH more.  It is stepping into the presence of the Lord and asking Him for counsel and wisdom.  Is is beseeching for God to reveal His divine will in a specific situation for your life or in the life of a friend.  Praying for others is a serious responsibility.  We should feel BURDENED to pray for those around us.  Let us not treat prayer so lightly and act as if conversation with the King of kings is a leisure we may enjoy whenever we need something from Him.  Christians should not be that shallow.

Wake up with me and let us truly treasure the blessings that we have in the Lord.  We have the privilege of coming before God Himself and speaking with Him.  We can ask for His guidence.  But we can also share with Him our fears and worries.  We can ask that He bless a friend of ours and we can plead that He would wake someone who may be asleep spiritually.  We have the ability to ask such things of God.  So let us use this great gift.  With a humble and thankful heart, let us gladly and daily approach the throne of God and speak with Him.  He is Lord and Friend.  Should we not treat Him as such?

Take prayer seriously.  Without it, who would you call to?  And who would answer?  It is the Lord who hears and knows the cries of our hearts and seeks to fill the holes in our lives.  Let us trust Him and draw near to Him.  Let us love more and hate less.  Let us trust more and worry less.  Let us pray. :-)