Prayer is the expression of man’s dependence upon God for all things. It is our means of communication with the Father. There are certain elements of power in prayer that have a clear and scriptural ground, such as fervency of mind (James 5:16). Another element of power lies in the help of the Holy Spirit. Scripture clearly shows promises of His help, “And in the same way the Spirit also helps our weakness” (Romans 8:26). There are many ways in which He may thus help us. He may give us a deeper sense of our spiritual needs and clearer views of the fullness and freeness of the divine grace.
Prayer, has been, from the beginning, the principal means by which men, created in the image of God, have given expression of their attitude toward Him; and from the earliest times, ever since in the days of Enoch when “men began to call upon the name of the Lord” (Genesis 4:26), it has formed an integral part of the public worship of God. Scripture shows us that it is how we are to express the feelings and dispositions of our hearts by praise, thanksgiving, prayer, and intercession before God (Genesis 18:22-33; Genesis 20:17; Genesis 24:12-14; Genesis 25:21-22; Genesis 32:9-12; Exodus 32:11-13; 1 Samuel 1:10; 1 Samuel 2:1-10; 1 Samuel 8:6; 1 Samuel 12:23; 1 Kings 8:22-53; 1 Kings 17:20-21; 2 Kings 4:33; 2 Kings 19:15-19; Jonah 2:2-9; Jonah 4:2-3; Daniel 6:10; Daniel 9:3-19; etc.).
The law of the Old Testament did not prescribe any prayer for public worship except the confession of sin on the great Day of Atonement (Leviticus 16:21), and the thanksgiving on the occasion of the offering of the firstlings and tithes (Deut. 26:3-11), yet it is certain that in Israel no act of worship was unaccompanied by prayer. As early as David’s time we hear of private prayer being offered three times a day (Psalm 55:17), which subsequently became an established practice (Daniel 6:10), the hours being at the time of the morning sacrifice, about the third hour (Acts 2:15); at midday, about the sixth hour (Acts 10:9); and at the time of the evening sacrifice, about the ninth hour (Daniel 9:21; Acts 3:1). Grace before and after meals was also an ancient practice, although we find no explicit testimony regarding it earlier than in the New Testimony (Matthew 15:36; John 6:11; Acts 27:35).
Your Challenge:
Prayer may not be typically thought of as a virtue, but as a Christian, being a praying man or women should be a quintessential part of who we are. Throughout scripture it tells us how powerful prayer is and Jesus tells us "For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened" (Luke 11:7). We see the legendary people of the bible turning to prayer constantly and in all circumstances. We start here, with prayer, because, well its a great way to start everything! Many of us probably do not use prayer to communicate with God as much as we feel that we should and it would make a world of difference in our lives if we did. Just imagine if you prayed and asked God for direction with every decision you make throughout the day, the results would be amazing.
Look to the word to find examples of how and when to pray. It is full of great examples of all sorts of prayer and how it is used for many different reasons. The story of Nehemiah and The Lords Prayer found at Matthew 6:5 are good places to start. At any given moment in the day, you have something to pray about. Use this challenge to really think about how God is working in your life, then praise him for it, ask for clarification or direction, ask for change, his help, you can even pray for others (Matthew 5:44; Luke 6:28). The point is to just talk with God because being a praying man was a virture that Christ had. "I tell you the truth, anyone who has faith in me will do what I have been doing. He will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father And I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Son may bring glory to the Father." (John 14:12)
