Why Do We Pray?

We pray to communicate with God, it’s that simple!

Prayer is simply just talking to God. You can talk to him as you would a friend by sharing how you are feeling, what concerns you, what makes you happy, your thankfulness for his blessings, and to ask for forgiveness of your sins (all of them..like being short tempered, not using your time wisely, not being kind, etc.)

We are all human and are not perfect and we all sin every single day! We talk to God about those things that we’ve done, or things we should have done but didn’t. Those things that we are not proud of. Many of these things are sin – otherwise we probably would not be feeling this way about them. Many times they are just the “stupid things” we do! But the bottom line is that they are sin! So we ask for forgiveness of our sins. And when we do this, God forgives us!

1 John 1:9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

God desires a relationship with each and every one of us. You can initiate this through prayer every single day and every single minute of every day. God is always ready to hear from you. You don’t need to make an appointment, schedule a conference call, or send him a text!

1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.

Philippians 4:6-7 Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

God loves it when we are in constant communication with him. In our lives we get busy and we get in the habit of forgetting to talk to God. So we need to find methods to focus and modify our behavior. Many people do this through fasting. They sit aside time to draw nearer to God. And we know that the Bible tells us that he will draw nearer to us when we do this.

James 4:8 Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you.

And as we enter into Spring and the upcoming Easter Holiday, many of us will spend some time, in our own traditional way, recognizing the birth, death, and resurrention of Jesus Christ our Lord and Saviour. This is a great time to set aside extra time to think and evaluate what we want to say to God, what we are struggling with, what we are thankful for, what we want to talk to him about.

It also is a great time to spend more focus on the scriptures because reading scriptures is one of the most important ways to hear what God has to say to you. As we read the Bible and we remember to ask the Holy Spirit for enlightenment and understanding that He would actually grow our faith through enhanced learning. And I pray that the Holy Spirit will enlighten my heart and my mind to the truth in the scriptures.

2 Timothy 3:16:  All scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work”.

Hebrews 4:12-13: “For the word of God is alive and active, Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.  Nothing in creation is hidden from God’s sight.  Everything is uncovered and laid bare before the eyes of him to whom we must give account”.

Sometimes I even write down my thoughts with the date along side (journaling to a degree) as I ponder the direction I want to progress towards It is a journey.

Using this method of prayer, reading of scripture, and journaling is a very effective way to be in communication with God. It’s a bi-directional relationship God <—> Me, exactly how God intended it to be!

Here are some additional scriptures regarding prayer:

Matthew 6:5-15 “When you pray, do not be like the hypocrites! They love to stand up and pray in the houses of worship and on the street corners, so that everyone will see them. I assure you, they have already been paid in full. But when you pray, go to your room, close the door, and pray to your Father, who is unseen. And your Father, who sees what you do in private, will reward you. “When you pray, do not use a lot of meaningless words, as the pagans do, who think that their gods will hear them because their prayers are long. Do not be like them. Your Father already knows what you need before you ask him. This, then, is how you should pray: ‘Our Father in heaven: May your holy name be honoured; may your Kingdom come; may your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us today the food we need. Forgive us the wrongs we have done, as we forgive the wrongs that others have done to us. Do not bring us to hard testing, but keep us safe from the Evil One.’ “If you forgive others the wrongs they have done to you, your Father in heaven will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive others, then your Father will not forgive the wrongs you have done.”

2 Chronicles 7:14 If my people who are called by my name humble themselves, and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and heal their land.

1 Chronicles 16:11 Seek the Lord and his strength; seek his presence continually!

Remember, Jesus always sought to be alone to spend some time communiating with God the Father!

Hebrews 5:7 In the days of his flesh, Jesus offered up prayers and supplications, with loud cries and tears, to him who was able to save him from death, and he was heard because of his reverence.