Prayer    

Prayer is a direct way in which we can connect with God, allowing access between us and God. Prayer is often an act of communion with God or a reverent petition made to God. Prayer is a continuous part of a Christian's life.

When we pray we should not forget to thank God for the wonders of His mighty works. God has provided us with so much, and has given us so much beauty to admire and charish. Take time everyday to lift God up and magnify His name. Rejoice in God and give Him praise.

What can we learn from Jesus's walk on the earth?

Matthew 14:23 "And after He had sent the multitudes away, He went up to the mountain to pray."

Mark 1:35 "And early in the morning, while it was still dark, He arose and went out and departed to a lonely place, and was praying there."

Mark 6:46 "And after bidding them farewell, He departed to the mountain to pray."

Luke 3:21 "Jesus was baptized, and while He was praying, heaven was opened."

Luke 5:16 "But He Himself would often slip away to the wilderness and pray."

Luke 6:12 "Jesus went off to the mountain to pray, and he spent the whole night in prayer to God."

Luke 9:28 "Jesus took along Peter and John and James, and went up to the mountain to pray."

Luke 11:1 "And it came about that while He was praying in a certain place, after He had finished, one of His disciples said to Him, "Lord, teach us to pray"."

Luke 22:44 "And being in agony He was praying very fervently."

In these passages the Son of God went to pray. Notice that Jesus went to places that were isolated so that He could pray to God. Jesus went to the mountain, to a lonely place, and into the wilderness to pray.

Should we also find a quiet, isolated place to pray to God?

Matthew 6:5-6 And when thou prayest, thou shalt not be as the hypocrites are: for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and in the corners of the streets, that they may be seen of men. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward. But thou, when thou prayest, enter into thy closet, and when thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy Father which is in secret; and thy Father which seeth in secret shall reward thee openly.

Also, in the above passages the Son of God went to pray along side His disciples. Why? We can find the answer to this in Matthew 18:20.

Matthew 18:20 For where two or three are gathered together in My name, I am there in the midst of them.

Let's look at Luke 22:44 again. It says, "And being in agony He was praying very fervently." When Jesus was in distress, when He was pained, He went to God in prayer. When we are in a similar situation we often try to hide from God and try to fix things on our own. However, we should not be ashamed to call upon God in times of agony. We should go to God in prayer.

So, by following the example of Jesus, we can discover a lot about how and when we should prayer. We should pray in secret which helps in the development of a person relationship with God. We should also pray together in agreement. And we should go to God in both good times and bad times.

We should all seek to have a full prayer life, and seek out God in prayer always.

There are many formats that can be used to pray. An example of how to pray is the Five finger prayer. It can be used as a guide when praying.

We can also learn much more from the testimony of Jesus's prayer life. Jesus's testimony shows that His prayer life was not ordinary. There was not only regularity in prayer, there were also long periods spent in prayer to His Father. The Eternal Son of God, being fully God, has the attribute of divine independence and self-sufficiency. Yet in His earthly state He showed His complete dependence on the Father by devoting Himself to a life of prayer to the Father. We are all totally dependent on God. And devotion to prayer is one of the means by which we express our complete dependence on God.

God is our Lord and Savior, our Master and Creator, and our Rock and Fortress. Praise God for the many blessings that God has given us! Bring praise to Him in prayer.

1 Thessalonians 5:17 says, "Pray without ceasing." This literally means, "continually pray" or "continually bring yourself to prayer". "Without ceasing" is emphatic. The command is not a call for uninterrupted prayer but for a life that is pervaded with prayer.

Colossians 4:2 says, "Devote yourselves to prayer." This statement literally means"continually devote".

Devote meanings : to adhere to; to hold fast to; to persist in; to busy oneself with; to busily engage in; to persevere; to give attention to; to be faithful to.

Colossians 4:2 is saying be faithful to God in prayer.

Philippians 4:6 says, "Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God." This verse lets us know that we should not worry about anything, but we should still take everything to prayer. The phrase "let be made known" is a command with the emphasis on always letting your requests be made known to God.

All of these scriptures illustrates our responsibility to pray and the importance of prayer in our daily lives.

Psalms 65:2. "O You who hear prayer; To You all men come."

Psalms 34:15,17. "The eyes of the Lord are towards the righteous, And His ears are open to their cry. The righteous cry and the Lord hears him."

Proverbs 15:29 "The Lord … hears the prayer of the righteous."

1 John 5:14. "And this is the confidence which we have before Him, that, if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us."

Psalms 6:9 "The Lord has heard my supplication."

Psalms 34:4 "I sought the Lord and He answered me."

Psalms 66:19 "But certainly God has heard; He has given heed to the voice of my prayer."

Psalms 99:6 says concerning Moses, Aaron and Samuel, "They called upon the Lord, and He answered them."

Psalms 138:3 "On the day I called You answered me."

And so, the Lord says:

Jeremiah 33:3, "Call to Me, and I will answer you."

The Bible clearly shows that God hears and answers our prayers. Reasons to Pray.