QUESTION 1: WHAT IS PRAYER REALLY?
Prayer is really like a secret power – if you’ve ever wished you had some sort of power then your wish came true, because prayer is actually a power!
When you pray great things can happen –
Through prayer someone can be healed.
Through prayer someone can be saved from an accident.
Through prayer someone can get a job.
Through prayer demon posed people have been freed.
Just to name a few – but there are many more reasons.
I want you to also think of prayer as talking to God – chatting with him like you would a friend.
Think for a moment of your best friend – when you get together or you call each other up or you text, I’m sure you tell each other everything.
Well God wants you to talk to him like that – if you’re not use to praying it might feel strange at first – but the more you talk to him the easier it’ll be.
Also, remember that you don’t have to kneel to pray – you can talk to God all day at any time – anything that is bothering you or if you’re thankful just send a quick chat to God.
Something as simple as ‘God I need you – please give me peace.’
QUESTION 2: Did Jesus pray?
When Jesus was on earth he was always really busy but he was never too busy to pray.
During the day he was healing and at night he used that time to pray.
Matthew 14:23 says “After he had dismissed them, he went up on a mountainside by himself to pray. Later that night, he was there alone.”
The way I see it is that if it was good enough for Jesus to pray then why isn’t it good enough for me? Look in Mark 1:35 “Very early in the morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house and went off to a solitary place, where he prayed.”
How wonderful to see that Jesus, being the son of God, made a special time to pray. He didn’t just throw it in when he could; He actually made it His priority before the hustle and bustle of the day ahead. Plus, being the son of God he knew how vital it was to pray. He needed to be alert and his mind sharp – otherwise he would have fallen into temptation and we would have lost eternal life.
There are heaps of verses that talk about Jesus taking time to pray – look for yourself in: Luke 6:12” One of those days Jesus went out to a mountainside to pray, and spent the night praying to God.”
Luke 9:28, Luke 5:15-16 also mention him praying and these are only a few verses!!
QUESTION 3: Why should we pray?
There are so many reasons why we NEED to pray. Praying give us strength to face everything we face each day. We all have hard days – some days are harder than others. That’s why when we pray God fills us with strength and our faith grows a little more.
We need to pray so that satan doesn’t take our minds captive – we need to fill our minds with only the name of Jesus – don’t forget that there is power in his name. Just whispering makes the demons tremble.
There’s a beautiful quote that says, “When the enemy shall come in like a flood, the spirit of the Lord shall lift up a standard against him..” (God becomes a shelter)
Praying through the day is like wearing our battle armour.
For us it’s important to pray because that’s the way we communicate with God. We don’t have a mobile number to text him or an email address – but we do have prayer. Prayer is us chatting with him as friends. Telling him everything and thanking him too.
QUESTION 4: What does prayer help with?
Okay, now that we know why prayer is essential, let’s see what other purposes it serves. Look in Matthew 26:41 “Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation. The spirit is willing but the body is weak.”
WOW, that is important but sadly I must admit that I’ve never specifically prayed to God to keep me from falling into temptation; but reading this passage is such an eye opener because although my spirit is willing my body is weak!
1 Peter 5:9-11 (msg) I will read only a little bit from this verse…
“Keep a cool head. Stay alert. The Devil is poised to pounce, and would like nothing better than to catch you napping. Keep your guard up.”
It says to keep alert – meaning don’t let satan trick you with things that tempt you – drinking, clubbing, boys and anything that takes your eyes away from God. Praying will help you keep your mind sharp at all times. Let’s make sure we pray for this one.
QUESTION 5: CAN WE REALLY PRAY ABOUT ANYTHING?
Yes, you can pray for friends who have asked you to pray for them. For people who are sick or have financial or family problems the list is endless. Look in 2 Corinthians 1:11 (NIV) where we read: “You also must help us by prayer, so that many will give thanks on our behalf for the blessing granted us through the prayers of many.” Isn’t it great to know that even if you can’t be with a person physically you can help them through prayer? What a gift to have intercessory prayer.
And it doesn’t matter how big or small your petition is, God doesn’t see any of the pointless or silly.
