Have you ever wondered if prayer is really that necessary? Why do we need to pray if God already knows everything even before we even ask Him? Will our prayers make a difference? If so, how can we pray effectively?
You might be one of those people who wondered about the power of prayer. And if prayer is as powerful as what the church has been teaching, then you should also take your prayer life seriously.
Why do we need to pray? Because we are commanded to. 1 Thessalonians 5:17 says that we should pray without ceasing. And because we have been given righteousness through the saving work of Jesus Christ, we can be confident that our prayers are heard and will indeed produce good fruit. James 5:16 promised that “the prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective.” If you want to be reminded of these verses on a daily basis check out these aesthetic Bible verse wallpapers.
You are commanded to pray for a great reason and aside from having your requests heard, prayer will also help you grow in your relationship with God. This is why when Jesus taught the disciples how to pray, He started the prayer with “Our Father…”
Yet there are times that you get discouraged to pray. Maybe it was because you feel like you have been waiting for so long but God still didn’t answer your prayers. There are times you might ask yourself if there is someone who really listens to your prayers. One other reason is that you can easily get distracted so you just stop talking to God. But let this be a reminder that prayer is a form of submission to God– it is acknowledging that you can’t do it on your own and that you need Him. Whether His answer is yes, no, or wait, you can trust that He knows better and His ways are always higher than ours.
Even Jesus, the Only One who could’ve skipped prayer, built His life around it. In the gospel of Mark, it was recorded that “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.” If the Son of God took His time to pray, it will be the wisest thing to follow His example. Therefore, you should set aside time to pray.
But how do you do that? How can you pray effectively?
The first thing you should ask ourselves when you pray is “How’s my relationship with God?” You seek Him as your Father. He’s not just a genie who’s waiting for your command. The right relationship with Him will give you the confidence to come to the throne of His grace. (Hebrews 4:16). A Bible verse wallpaper can remind you of this every time you open your phone.
Also, you need to set the right motive when you ask God for something. James 4:3 says “When you ask, you do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, that you may spend what you get on your pleasures.” God wants us to glorify Him in our prayers, not ourselves. So let’s ask God to work in our hearts first so that whatever we pray for, it is not out of our selfish motive but is aligned to His will.
May we be encouraged by this verse “This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, He hears us.” 1 John 5:14
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