Prayer is something that offers you a great blessing if you will use it. We should all desire to communicate with God because He loves us so much He gave His only begotten Son so we could enjoy eternal life with Him.
Let me share three blessings that prayer will give you.
1 – Prayer is a way to know God.
Can you really get to know someone if you never communicate with the person you want to know? We can read books, watch videos, get info on the internet and learn a great deal about another person. But without some form of communication with the person, our knowledge is limited to facts and figures.
We can fall into the same trap with God. We can read a lot about Him, know a great number of facts about Him, yet be in a position where we do not know Him. To know God requires us to communicate with God through prayer.
Sometimes I wonder if we are not as dedicated to prayer because we fear God will know us better than we are comfortable with. I have news for you. God knows you better than you know yourself.
What prayer does is help us get to know Him better. This allows us to learn to trust Him, which will lead us to turn to Him more during times of joy and sorrow. When you pray you get to know God better, and it makes you a better person.
2 – Prayer is a way to find the direction we need.
When you need direction in life, where do you turn? I know teenagers often turn to other teenagers. When you’re 20 you often turn to other 20 year olds to draw from their vast experience in life. Parents turn to parents and even grandparents turn to grandparents. There are so many places where we can go to find direction for life, but for those who trust God, we know we can turn to God for direction.
Like a needle on a compass, prayer helps us navigate life’s toughest obstacles. Bible heroes have used prayer to determine their actions. Sometimes the direction was a bit crazy but it always worked out.
Psalm 86:11 – “teach me thy way, O Lord; I will walk in thy truth.” Since God does not have email, Facebook, Twitter, or texting, we receive His direction through prayer.
How does God direction us? Proverbs 3:5-6 – “Trust in the Lord with all thine heart and lean not unto thine own understanding; In all thy ways acknowledge Him and He shall direct thy path.” It begins with trust. If you do not trust God, you will not communicate with Him. Trust leads to learning of God’s understanding versus your own.
3 – Prayer is a way to lay our requests and hearts before God.
When you love someone, do you enjoy talking with them? Whey you have someone who loves you, do you want them to come to you in your time of need?
God desires us to come to Him. He wants you to lay yur hearts and requests before Him. God wants you to lay your requests before Him. He wants you to trust Him enough to pour your heart out to Him.
Phil. 4:6-7 – “Be careful for nothing; but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God. And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.”
The result of prayerfully laying our requests before God is peace. When you know someone has your back, you can experience peace. When you know God has your back, you can experience peace that surpasses all understanding.
The apostle Paul understood this. He endured unbelievable hardships, persecutions, wrongful imprisonments, beatings, near death, shipwrecks, yet he had peace. Peace transcends circumstances. We can go to God because He cares for you.
1 Peter 5:6-7 – “Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of god, that he may exalt you in due time: Casting all your care upon him; for he careth for you.”
There you have it. That is why we pray. We do not pray because it is some religious exercise. We do it because we believe we have a God in Heaven, the Creator of all things, who loves us and hears us.
We pray because we want to get to know God better, seek His direction in life, and because He will give us peace as we cast all our cares on Him.
God has some big shoulders to lean on. Are you not yet a prayer warrior? Maybe today can be the beginning of something wonderful in your life as you begin to spend time in prayer to the God who loves you and sent His Son to die for you so you can possess eternal life.
You can read some of my other articles about prayer: The Power of a Single Prayer, Prayer of Jabez, God, Prayer and my Stolen iPhone, Talking with Someone You Can’t See.