Prayer is an integral part of life. It’s so important that almost every religion practices some form of prayer. Whether those prayers are effective is a whole other discussion. In the next few blog articles, we will focus on prayer.
Jesus instructs believers to pray. He taught and showed His disciples how to pray (Matthew 6:7-14, John 14:13-14), and throughout the Gospels, we can see the remarkable effects of prayer on His life and the lives of those around Him.
Why did Jesus make prayer such a big deal? Prayer is mainly how believers fellowship with God. Being in deep fellowship with God is the real goal of Jesus Christ’s death and resurrection. Being saved from sin, hell, and death was just a means to an end. The real goal of Jesus’s saving us from sin was so that we can live in union with the true and living God forever.
Also, the more time we spend fellowshipping with God, the more we recognise His voice and get guidance and answers from Him. Most believers lack direction and focus in life because they don’t listen to the voice of their Shepherd.
The life of the believer is so easy: keeping our eyes on Jesus, our Great Shepherd, and obeying His voice. It’s that easy. This may seem harsh, but people who say the Christian life is difficult are carnal. What they mean is that the Christian life is difficult on the flesh.
So, if a person is carnal, the Christian life will be very difficult. But if the person is spiritual, it’s easy. According to Romans 8:5-6, to experience life and peace, believers only need to focus their minds on spiritual things. It’s really that simple.
We believers are to hear and follow the voice of our Great Shepherd, Jesus Christ. Prayer is the foundation for doing that effectively. When we pray, we hear His voice and receive the faith and strength necessary to do His perfect will.
We all face negative situations in our lives, families, communities, and nations that we want to change for the better. Prayer is an effective way to achieve transformational and lasting change in any negative situation.
Through prayer, we can hear God’s direction to change that situation. Elijah (James 5:17-18) and Daniel (Daniel 9:2-3) are great examples of individuals who changed the course of their nation through prayer.
Through prayer, we make our requests known to God. In John 5:14-15, He assures us that every prayer that aligns with His will is heard and answered. In John 15:11, Jesus invites us to ASK, that our joy may be full. So, what are you waiting for?
