Prayer is Foundational

Psalm 4:3 (Contemporary English Version)

The Lord has chosen everyone who is faithful to be his very own, and he answers my prayers.

Prayer is one of the foundational practices in the Christian life, yet it is probably the most neglected aspect of the Christian life. A Christian who has a weak prayer life has a weak spiritual life or will have a weakening spiritual life.

There is no way to achieve the kind of depth God desires for us in our Christian life without a strong, consistent prayer life.

1 Thessalonians 5:17 (New King James Version)

Pray without ceasing.

The Bible commands that we pray without ceasing, yet Christians have the misconception that they can grow spiritually while willingly disobeying and neglecting this foundational principle. Praying without ceasing does not mean that we must be praying every waking moment. It means that we have a daily consistent walk with the Lord that is founded upon prayer.

Most people begin with a commitment to pray and do well for a while, but within a few weeks their prayer time begins to fade. Though prayer is a discipline, we should approach it with more than a commitment to be disciplined.

We have a love relationship with God and like all relationships; it will not grow without communication. God constantly communicates with us through His word, our circumstances, our hearts and spirit, and through prayer. We communicate with God through our responsiveness to Him and through prayer. Hopefully we would not consider ignoring our spouse for weeks or months at a time, yet we think nothing of doing this to God. In time, we wonder why we are feeling distant from Him.

1 Samuel 12:23 (Contemporary English Version)

I would be disobeying the LORD if I stopped praying for you!

A Christian who lives without prayer is a Christian who does not understand the power of God. God may use us even when we are lacking spiritually, but without prayer, we are limiting ourselves from God’s best. A church that fails to pray or does not have leaders, who pray, will not see God move in a mighty way. Through prayer we acknowledge our gratitude, dependence and submission to God.

Without prayer we are declaring, by our actions, that we don’t see our need for God, we believe we are self-sufficient and we take God for granted.

James 5:16 (New King James Version)

…The effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much.

Consistent and effective prayer comes from a heart that delights in time spent with God.

Psalm 37:4 (New King James Version)

Delight yourself also in the LORD, and He shall give you the desires of your heart.

The Bible teaches us that if we delight ourselves in the Lord, He will give us the desires of our hearts. When we look at prayer as “doing our duty,” we will not pray effectively.

When we look at prayer as a time to delight ourselves in God and our desire to spend time with Him drives us to pray, then we will pray effectively, consistently and we will see God move. Prayer will touch our inward lives and meet our outward needs.