On the most basic level, prayer simply refers to people's communication or conversation with God. Prayer, however, can be "multifaceted". That is to say, it can take several forms and involve several elements, just like any other conversation. The Bible uses other terms or phrases for talking with God, such as calling on God (Psalm 17:6), calling on the name of the Lord (Genesis 4:26), crying aloud to the Lord (Psalm 3:4), lifting up one's soul to the Lord (Psalm 25:1), seeking the Lord (Isaiah 55:6), approaching the throne of grace with confidence (Hebrew 4:16) and drawing near to God (Hebrew 10:22).

Reasons For Prayer

The Bible tells us why people-particularly those who claim to follow God-should pray.
(1) First of all, God commands His follower to pray. God delivers this command through the psalm writers (1Chronicles 16:11; Psalm 105:4), prophets (Isaiah 55:6; Amos 5:4, 6), apostles and early church leaders (Ephesians 6:17-18; Colossians 4:2) and Jesus Himself (Matthew 26:41; Luke 18:1; John 16:24). God desires our companionship and wants to spend personal time with us. Prayer is the means by which we develop a deeper relationship with God.

(2) Prayer is the necessary connection that helps to get to know and understand God's plan for our lives, to receive God's blessing and to experience His fulfilled promises. It connects us to God's power and purpose. Many Bible passages give us a picture of this principle. Jesus, for example, promised that His followers would receive the Holy Spirit if they continue to ask with longing hearts. He likened it to knocking at the door of their heavenly Father until He answers.

5 Then Jesus said to them, “Suppose you have a friend, and you go to him at midnight and say, ‘Friend, lend me three loaves of bread; 6 a friend of mine on a journey has come to me, and I have no food to offer him.’ 7 And suppose the one inside answers, ‘Don’t bother me. The door is already locked, and my children and I are in bed. I can’t get up and give you anything.’ 8 I tell you, even though he will not get up and give you the bread because of friendship, yet because of your shameless audacity[a] he will surely get up and give you as much as you need.

9 “So I say to you: Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. 10 For everyone who asks receives; the one who seeks finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened.

11 “Which of you fathers, if your son asks for[b] a fish, will give him a snake instead? 12 Or if he asks for an egg, will give him a scorpion? 13 If you then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!” - Luke 11:5-13

So in response, Jesus' followers joined together after He returned to heaven and prayed constantly (Act 1:14)-just as He had instructed them (Act1:4). They prayed until the Holy Spirit was "poured out" (i.e., came into their lives to empower them to serve Jesus) on the day of Pentecost (Act 2:1-4, 8). When Jesus' followers gathered together when some of their leaders had been arrested and released by the Jewish authorities, they prayed long and hard for the Holy Spirit to give them boldness and influence when talking about Jesus. "After they prayed, the place where they were meeting was shaking. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and spoke the Word of God boldly" (Act 4:31).

The Apostle Paul (a pioneer missionary who started many new testament churches and wrote many of the new testament letters, or "books") frequently asked people to pray for him. He knew that his work would not be successful unless he had that kind of support from other Christians. Together they would join him in depending on God (i.e., Romans 15:30-32; 2Corinthians 1:11; Ephesians 6:18-20, Philippians 1:19; Colossians 4:3-4). James, Jesus' half brother and leader of the first church in Jerusalem, clearly states in his book that believers can receive physical healing in response to "the prayer offered in faith" (James 5:14-15).

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(3) As part of His plan of spiritual salvation for humankind, God has made His followers to also be His co-workers in the effort to lead people into a personal relationship with Him. In a way, God has even limited Himself and His activity according to the faithful, continued prayers of His people. God has chosen to use the prayers of His people as the ways of causing spiritual activity to begin. There are many things that will not happen in God's kingdom unless His people pray. For example, God wants to send out workers into the spiritual "harvest" to deliver His message of forgiveness and new life to the many who are ready to receive it. But Christ teaches that this will only reach its full potential through people's prayer. "Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into His harvest field" (Matthew 9:38). That is to say, God releases His power to accomplish many of His purposes only when people sincerely pray for these things to happen. if we fail to pray, we may actually be delaying or holding back God's plan. both for ourselves and for the church as a whole.

It doesn't end there. There are some things we need to do for our prayers to be effective and these are the things are will be mentioning tomorrow in my blog. Title: Requirements Of Effective Praying. Keep following my blog and remain blessed.

Thanks for reading.
Shalom.

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