Prayer. What is it? Why do we pray?

The dictionary defines prayer as this:

a spiritual communion with Yahweh or an object of worship, as in supplication, thanksgiving, adoration, or confession.

We pray because it’s our direct open line to talk to Yahweh. There’s no holding or waiting. There’s no numbers to press to get to the correct department.

It’s one of the ways to worship Him giving Him thanks, adoring Him, and to confess our sins in reconciling with Him.

One thing that happens with prayers is that many will wait until they’re in dire straights and then pray asking Yahweh to help and save them from despair.

Yahweh likes to hear from us daily. He also likes for us to bring our petitions as well as our thanks for what He’s blessed us with in our lives.

At the moment I’m reading a book about prayer (The Circle Maker) and learning to make my prayers more effective. It’s no different than learning to communicate with the world around us. Communication is a key component of life. Without it, life is chaos.

In today’s scripture Daniel prays often throughout the day. A law was made that said no praying was aloud for 30 days. Here’s the scripture:

1 Darius (King) thought it would be a good idea to choose one hundred twenty governors who would rule his kingdom. 2 He chose three men as supervisors over those governors, and Daniel was one of the supervisors. The supervisors were to ensure that the governors did not try to cheat the king. 3 Daniel showed that he could do the work better than the other supervisors and governors, so the king planned to put Daniel in charge of the whole kingdom. 4 Because of this, the other supervisors and governors tried to find reasons to accuse Daniel about his work in the government. But they could not find anything wrong with him or any reason to accuse him, because he was trustworthy and not lazy or dishonest. 5 Finally these men said, “We will never find any reason to accuse Daniel unless it is about the law of his God.” 6 So the supervisors and governors went as a group to the king and said: “King Darius, live forever! 7 The supervisors, assistant governors, governors, the people who advise you, and the captains of the soldiers have all agreed that you should make a new law for everyone to obey: For the next thirty days no one should pray to any god or human except to you, O king. Anyone who doesn’t obey will be thrown into the lion’s den. Daniel 6:1-7

We see in v.10 that Daniel doesn’t let that stop him. He knew he’d get into trouble if he was caught. It was more important and paramount that he talk to Yahweh.

And so should we. Prayer is a powerful thing. There’s many books written about it. The Bible impresses upon its importance. In fact, we see in Matthew 6:9-13, the model prayer:

So when you pray, you should pray like this: ‘Our Father in heaven, may your name always be kept holy. May your kingdom come and what you want be done, here on earth as it is in heaven. Give us the food we need for each day. Forgive us for our sins, just as we have forgiven those who sinned against us. And do not cause us to be tempted, but save us from the Evil One.’

The Bible is also full of prayers of the saints praying to Yahweh for people and themselves.

Prayers prayed sincerely in earnest (not for what we selfishly want) are answered.

How’s your prayer life? Do you struggle daily to get a prayer in?

Billy Graham offers up a lesson in praying. Click through and read it. Meditate on The Word and lift up your prayers to Yahweh and talk to Him.

Share an answered prayer and let us know how Yahweh has blessed you.

Need prayer? Contact us today with your prayer request.