Hey there, friends. We are back again for round 3 in our Scripture of the Week Series. The Lord has revealed so much to me about prayer these past few weeks and I cannot wait to share it with you.
“Therefore I say to you, whatever things you ask when you pray, believe that you will receive them, and you will have them.” Mark 11:24
11/8/21-11/19/21
What does this scripture about prayer mean?
Jesus tells us that whatever we ask for in prayer we will receive it, as long as we believe. WE MUST HAVE FAITH! We must keep praying until we hear from God. Sometimes if we do not get a response from God after praying, especially if we’ve been praying the same prayer for a long time, our faith becomes shaken. Then we find ourselves monotonously praying the same prayer, but our belief has faded. We cannot expect God to answer our prayers if we do not believe that He can!
But let’s take a look at the basics of prayer. Hopefully by breaking prayer down, it can give us some insight as to why it is so important that we communicate with our God and the role it plays in our spiritual lives. It can also instill in us that strong belief so that God will answer our prayers!
Why do we pray?
Whenever we hear the word “prayer” I’m sure your mind goes directly to one thing- asking God for something. Whether it be provision, a blessing, favor, etc. this is a lot of times the first thing we jump to whenever we come before God. However, there are several other reasons why we should pray.
In my small group last Wednesday I heard this in a video we were watching by Tony Evans. He said “Prayer is the hand of faith that is reaching out to God.” When I heard this I immediately got this strong image of a person coming to the Lord in honest prayer, and Him reaching His hand out to them as they prayed.
Prayer is how we continually go after God. It’s how we learn more about Jesus and the plans He has for our lives. It is how we build our faith. Prayer is how we grow our relationship with Christ. Additionally, I believe prayer is the most important thing we can do to show God our love for Him and for others.
Think about this for a second- Imagine a person that is closest to you in your life. Maybe it’s your mom, your best friend, your spouse, etc. What would happen to those relationships if you only spoke to them once a month? Once a year? Only in passing? What would happen if the only time you spoke to those people in your life is when you needed something? Or vice versa?
I’m sure those relationships would being to dissolve. You would slowly start to seperate yourself from that person until you no longer had any type of personal relationship with them. The person you once knew and loved would become a stranger.
Also, think about those relationships in your life where you were the only one putting forth effort. You were the first to call, text, or reach out to the other person. How long did you keep doing this before you stopped all together?
Thankfully, God is not like man and we can stray away and return many times. He will always welcome us back home!! (Luke 15:11-32)
But this is why it is so important that we pray. Prayer is the very foundation of a strong relationship with Christ. We cannot build a relationship with someone if we do not speak to them and put forth the effort, and the same is true with God.
How do we pray?
A strong foundation for the basis of prayer can be found in Matthew 6. Matthew 6:6 states, “But when you pray, go into your room, and when you have shut your door, pray to your Father who is in the secret place; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you openly.” He doesn’t want us to pray just so we can be seen. He wants us to come to Him honestly and in private. He wants us to be comfortable coming to Him not just outwardly with others, but alone as well.
Jesus then goes on to give us the Lord’s prayer in verses 9-13. This is a great guideline for prayer. If you have not read the Lord’s Prayer, it is a powerful reference that show us how we can humbly and sincerely come before Him.
What do we pray about?
There is no prayer too little or too large for Jesus. He wants you to be able to come to Him with ANYTHING. Even though it may seem silly to you, it isn’t to Him. Don’t feel like you only have to come to Jesus in prayer in times of crisis. He cares about the seemingly small things in your life as well! (Philippians 4:6-7)
What if I don’t know what to pray about?
Sometimes we may not even know ourselves what to pray or we may struggle finding the words. Romans 8:26-27 teaches us that in times of distress, God sends the Holy Spirit to help us. All we have to do is open our hearts and allow Him to enter. In these times, all we have to do is come before Him and let God do the rest.
I want to add here that prayer is not just for churches. God encourages us to pray everywhere at anytime!! Prayer is for your car, your living room, your bedroom, your kitchen sink, the grocery store, your friends house, your shower, etc. You can literally pray ANYWHERE and He will hear you! He is always with you, friend. 1 Timothy 2:7 states “I desire therefore that the men pray everywhere, lifting up holy hands, without wrath and doubting,” He wants you to pray about everything in your life, anywhere! This reminds me of my very first scripture of the week that you can read here. It talks about how our God is omnipresent- there is nowhere you can go that He cannot reach you! He will meet you wherever you are, friend.
What keeps us from prayer?
Prayer is simple. This is demonstrated time and time again in the Bible. This scripture of the week is easily translated as “believe it and you will receive it.” Believe that He can and He will! Simple enough, right?
Often times though, our flesh (along with the enemy) seems to complicate things in our mind- especially prayer. We are human and we tend to overthink. But I want to tell you that prayer does not have to look a certain way and there are not specific things that you have to mention in prayer for God to hear you. God just wants the real us. Matthew 6:7-8 says, “And when you pray, do not heap up empty phrases as the Gentiles do, for they think that they will be heard for their many words. Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him.” All He wants is sincerity! It’s okay if you don’t know exactly what to say or how to say it. He created you. He knows your heart. Again, all you have to do is come to Him.
Furthermore, your life does not have to look a certain way for you to come before God. A lot of times, especially whenever we feel convicted, we feel like we are not worthy enough to come to Him in prayer. The amazing thing about our God is He is forgiving and good and easily accessible to ALL who call out to Him. (Psalm 145:18)
“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.”
Matthew 11:28-30
What is the goal of prayer?
God wants us to come with Him with our wants and needs. I’m sure whenever you think of prayer your mind jumps to asking God for something-blessings, favors, healing, etc. But prayer is much more than just coming to God with earthly desires. It’s also about dwelling in His presence, learning more about our Father, and building a beautiful connection with Christ. God wants to have a relationship with you!
“The goal is to have hearts that want what they receive from God, rather than ones that always ask for what they want.”
Dr. David Jeremiah
Why does God want us to pray?
Moreover, our Father wants to be able to reveal things to us. He wants us to draw closer to Him through prayer so that He can show us things that we otherwise would have not seen or known. Jeremiah 33:3 states, “Call to me and I will answer you, and will tell you great and hidden things that you have not known.” He wants us to gain wisdom and knowledge through our relationship with Him! Also, a sincere and loving relationship with our Father allows us to seek Him out with our questions. What better way to grow this connection with our Savior than through prayer?!
Additionally, He wants us to pray because He loves us. He doesn’t need us at all but He WANTS us. He wants a genuine connection with His sons and daughters.
Our God has so many things prepared for you, He just needs you to reach out to Him and receive it.
Conclusion
We have covered a lot of ground in the realm of prayer in this blog post. I have truly learned so much myself through studying His word and writing this for you. If there’s one thing I want you to take away from this, it is that prayer is so powerful and it will absolutely strengthen your faith and draw you closer to our Father than you have ever been before.
I pray this post about prayer blesses you. I pray that it touches whoever it was meant to reach and the things contained in this blog answers the questions that you may have been asking yourself about prayer. I pray it brings understanding and helps you to grow in your relationship with Christ. I also pray this restores your belief that He can and He will answer your prayers.
Thank you so much for being here.
