We are told to pray without ceasing, pray over your children and home, pray in the morning when you wake up and pray at night before you go to bed. If you are a Christian or have been a Christian for any length of time, no doubt you have heard the exhortation to pray. Prayer is one of those topics that we may sometimes lose the meaning of just because we have heard it for so long. Let’s go back to the basics of the meaning of prayer. So now I ask you, “Why pray?”
Why Pray?
Prayer has to do with joy. When you pray, you get into the presence of God, and in His presence is the fullness of joy. This joy from time spent in prayer with God will strengthen you. Maybe that’s why Jesus exhorts us so many times to “watch and pray, because the spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.” Your time spent in prayer will produce joy, and that will give us strength for the trials of life.
“I tell you the truth, my Father will give you whatever you ask in my name. Until now you have not asked for anything in my name. Ask and you will receive, and your joy will be complete.” (John 16:23-24-NIV).”
While in prayer, we make specific requests of God that only He can make happen. As long as we are not asking amiss, you can rest assured that He will give you the things you’ve asked for according to John 14:13: “And whatsoever ye shall ask in My name, that will I do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son.” The joy you experience from receiving what you have specifically asked for from God makes you feel overflowing, happy and thriving. This is truly experiencing life to its fullest! So we want to pray for many reasons, but mainly so we can be in His presence, experience His joy, and lay requests at His feet.
Prayer is the Pipeline to God
Prayer is our pipeline to God; our intimate line of communication with Him! According to Wikipedia, pipeline transport is “a conduit made from pipes connected end-to-end for long-distance fluid transport.” If you think of this definition in the spiritual sense, all kinds of light bulbs will suddenly pop on in your spirit. You are at one end of the pipeline, and God the Father is at the other end listening. A channel in heaven is opened to you, and the water of the Holy Spirit can flow to you from the heavens, and at the same time, your requests can go into the ears of the One who loves you the most. The Bible says we have access to God the Father through Jesus Christ. The only way to communicate with God the Father or to know Him at all is to accept His intermediary and spokesperson, the Lord Jesus Christ. The Bible says that all authority in heaven and earth was passed to Jesus Christ. If we receive Jesus Christ, then we receive the Father who sent Him. If someone rejects the Lord Jesus Christ, then they are rejecting the Father who sent Him. Jesus said, “Whoever rejects me, rejects the Father who sent me.” Through Christ alone, we have the privilege and joy of relationship with God the Father.
Who is God?
So we have established Jesus Christ is the only way to communicate with God the Father and we know that we have a reason to pray. We need to remember for a minute who we are communicating with. If we can remember His character and who He is, we will be drawn to Him in prayer. God is not like other people we may have had bad experiences with so we don’t have to shrink back from Him. You can crawl up in His lap, and He will wrap His arms of love around you. He will never violate you. He will never hurt you. He will never leave you or forsake you. He doesn’t have a back door or a trap door or a booby trap. God is safe. God is secure. God is a rock, a refuge and a friend. God is our Savior. We can talk to Him, and we need to…. every day.
Pass the Buck
The Bible instructs us to cast all our cares to God in prayer, making our requests known to Him with an attitude of thanksgiving (Philippians 4:6). This picture of casting all our cares upon Him who cares for us reminds me of someone who just throws the entire load they’re carrying into the sky. Have you ever wanted to just quit everything? The loads we carry in life are extremely heavy. He wants us to cast that load of cares upon Him because He cares for us and He is strong enough to carry that load.
He wants to carry that load of cares for you so that He can do a work in your life that is only activated by prayer and the releasing of that burden to Him. We need to just throw all our cares upon Him who cares for us as we get into the pipeline of prayer with Him. He wants to hear from us; He wants us to throw our load of burdens into His lap, and then He wants us to stand still and see the salvation of the Lord. He does not feel that you are “passing the buck” or dodging responsibility because He is the one you should be “passing the buck” to. Get into the pipeline and throw your cares of the world to Him! Throw them out!
Receive Your Petition by Faith – Walk in Revelation Knowledge
“This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us. And if we know that he hears us–whatever we ask–we know that we have what we asked of him.” (I John 5:14-15)
If we know that He hears us, we know that we have what we asked of Him. There are moments in prayer where you know He heard you and you feel the burden lifted. In this moment, know that you have what you asked of Him. This knowing is your calm, unshakable faith in God that He will take care of the things you have asked of Him.
There are many blessings that spring from prayer and communion with God, but prayer is also a necessity for a successful Christian walk. Not only do we know we need to pray, more importantly, we need to remember Who we are praying to! When we are drawn to His lovingkindness, we are able to cast all of our cares upon Him. When we know that we will receive what we have asked of Him, we can walk in the revelation knowledge that God wants us to walk in.
