PRAYER Pt. 2: Why Should I Pray

Before we get any further into how to pray, when to pray and the different types of prayer we should probably find out why we pray. Is it just there as a way for us to ask for the things we want, forgiveness for the things we do and healing for ourselves and the people that we care about? As a Christian, why do I pray?

I personally pray because I love God and I want to have conversations with Him and constantly remind Him that I depend on Him. I pray to ask his guidance, His blessing upon me and to open others hearts and ears to His message. I also pray for others. For some I pray that they become open to recieving Christ in their lives. For others I pray for health and healing from various afflictions: cancer, depression, addiction, divorce, anger, etc.

Mostly I pray to thank Him for the promise of eternal salvation, for the grace I have recieved, that His will be done and that I have the ability to be His hands and feet and represent Him in all that I do during my walk on Earth. That is why I pray. What does the Bible have to say about why we pray?

Matthew 26:41 says, "“Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation. The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.” We are to pray so that we may have strength not to fall into temptation. When thoughts of relapse or sin come into my mind one of the surest ways to ward them off is to begin praying for strength.

1 Thessalonians 5:17 says that we are to constantly pray "without ceasing." If prayer is that important to our lives that we should do it all of the time, then that is another great reason why we should pray. Sin and the Devil never take a day off. They will try to defeat us at every corner. A great way to ward them off is to have an ongoing conversation with God. It is like having your own personal entourage of bouncers with you where ever you go to ward of Satan and the thoughts he plants in our heads.

John 15:16 says, "You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you so that you might go and bear fruit—fruit that will last—and so that whatever you ask in my name the Father will give you." This means that when we have needs we are to come to God with them in prayer. The things that we need we will be given. Sometimes what we pray for will not be given and we may wonder why, but that is a question that will be looked at more later in this series.

James 1:5 says, "If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you." So when we have quandries in our lives, we are to pray for insight and understanding so that we can do the right thing. God guides us towards making the right decision and showing us the way He wants things done in our lives.

In Ephesians 3:14-21 Paul prays for the entire congregation, asking that God strengthen them with the Holy Spirit and that Christ would dwell in their hearts. He also asked that they gain comprehension of the depth and power of Christ's love and that it fill them. Following this example, we should pray for other people. Whether our prayer for them is for health, gaining a relationship with Christ or strength and wisdom in trying times.

Matthew 11:28 says that prayer eases those "who are weary and burdened" while 1 Peter 5:7 says that we should "cast all your anxiety on Him because He cares for you." Philippians 4:6-7 tells us that if we pray, the "peace of God will guard our hearts and our minds." In the

As you can see, there are a myriad of reasons that we should pray. First and foremost is that we are to be Christ-like, and Christ prayed all of the time. He even instructed us how to pray in Matthew 6, and we will get to that later in this series. We should pray to keep that constant contact with God in this sinful world. This world is not my home, I am merely visiting. Here is the main reason why we should pray.

Imagine that you are in a deep sea diving suit. The suit itself offers protection but you need more than just the suit. As you are suited up you have a helmet that attaches which contains a line that runs back to the surface. That line from the ship gives you oxygen and allows you to communicate any difficulties that arise so that they may be taken care of. The reason for that need is simple, the ocean is not your natural home.

Much like the ocean, sin is not what we were born to live surrounded by. As we are immersed in this world of sin, spiritually we begin to choke. We have a suit that can keep us safe, and those are the fruits of the spirit that we gird ourselves with. That is not enough, we still need contact with God. Prayer is the line that rises from our suit to the surface. If we lose contact with Him we are cut off. We are not being given life supporting oxygen, nor are we being given the calming presence of God. Simply knowing He is there is enough to help us stay calm and not panic when stressful situations occur.  We can survive spiritually in this world if we have that contact with God. If we do not, we will surely perish. Sin will become my lifestyle and spiritually I will die.

THAT IS WHY PRAYER IS OF THE UPMOST IMPOTANCE AND SHOULD BE DONE!!!!!!!

Could Jesus Find a Disciple part 2 The description

"So, what exactly is the job that you are talking about?" you ask as you follow the man outside. This is supposing that you follow the man outside. Part 1 of this series actually looked at why you would probably not go outside to even find out. 

"It is to shepard my flock, and by my flock I mean all people of the Earth. I will give you the power to heal and cast out demons. You will be a teacher, and your job will be to lead by example. I want you to be virtuous, and to speak to all that you come in contact with about ways for them to live their lives better and become followers of me. If you listen to me, you will be able to do all of these things," the man replies.

You actually find yourself beginning to lean in with interest as He speaks. The thought that he might be a little egocentric if not narcissictic crosses your mind. That aside,he is a very powerful orator and you gravitate to the sound of his voice as he speaks. You are not sure that this guy could make changes that would allow you to be the speaker he is. And healing and casting out demons sounds pretty farfetched. You are really having some problems believing what this guy is saying.

He continues, "As for job perks, you will not get paid in money. You will not be given a vehicle. You will not even have an office that you will work in. No vacation time, no insurance and no expense card. You will get to travel........a lot. You will travel by foot. You will get fed............ if people are nice enough to feed you. You will sleep....... under the stars, unless someone puts you up for the night. What you will receive is the knowledge that you have helped others. You will also be granted everlasting life guaranteed!"

You no longer know what this guy is even talking about. "Everlasting life," you say, "why would I want everlasting life, this life sucks sometimes. I want to do my time on Earth and then die. I don't want to live forever, I just want to live to see my kids have grandkids and my grandkids get into college. Anything beyond that is icing on the cake. At the rate we are going, this country will not even be here in 50 years, let alone eternity."

"I speak not of this world, but of eternal life in heaven. You may be cursed in this world, but you are fortunate to have the prospect of more to come. The finest day you have ever had on Earth will be as a nightmare in comparison to what you will experience in heaven. I tell you today that you should consider yourself blessed." 

With that, Jesus breaks into the beatitudes, "Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted. Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth. Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.  Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy. Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God. Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God. Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven."(Matthew 5:3-10)

"What do you mean, blessed are the persecuted," you ask? "I don't want to be persecuted!"

"But you do want to be persecuted, it is part of the price you get to pay for following me," he says. "Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you." (Matthew 5:11-12)

"If this were an interview, it would now be done," you tell the man. "I do not want to waste any more of your time. I am both content and safe here. I may not be "saving the world" but I am appreciated. If I wanted to be persecuted and hated, I would have stayed with my first wife! Sounds like it is a lot more appealing to not follow you than to pay the price for following. I think that you need some help, and not the kind that I am qualified to give."

With that, you turn and walk back inside your comfy little office building shaking your head. You may never know that you could have made a choice that would have forever changed the course of not just your history, but the history of the world.

My point is this, JESUS WOULD BE HARD PRESSED TO FIND A DISCIPLE IN THIS DAY AND AGE using the same method he once did. He may find disciples in undeveloped countries, but in most developed countries we have priorities that would supercede our ability to just quit our jobs and live as transients for the rest of our lives. We would not be willing to take that leap of faith. The good news is that we are not called to quit everything we are doing to follow Christ today. In fact, it is much easier to follow Christ today and to disciple than it was 2,000 years ago.

What we have to do is quite simple. We have to have a relationship with God. We show that we have a true relationship with God when we do two things. In Matthew 22 Jesus directed us to love God with all of our heart, soul and mind first and foremost. Secondly we are to love our neighbors as ourselves. That is what He said was most imporant for us to do! What does that mean? Tune in for the next blog, Could Jesus Find a Disciple part 3 Following Christ in the Modern Era to find out!