The Privilege of Prayer
Prayer is the opening of the heart to God as to a friend. Not that it is necessary in order to make known to God what we are, but in order to enable us to receive Him. Prayer does not bring God down to us, but brings us up to Him.
- Steps to Christ p93
We need to pour our hearts to God if we are to have a personal relationship with Him. Having a relationship with God involves talking to Him about things concerning our actual life. Our joys, our concerns, our fears, our aspirations, what irritates us, and what inspires us. We should talk to God about things that make our hearts glad and things that seem to crush our souls. Don’t let your prayers be formal and stale, talk to God like you would to a best friend, about everything that’s on your heart. If it takes all day, then spend all day talking to Him.
We tell God these things not because He does not know them, but because it connects us to Him in a more intimate way. Prayer draws us closer to God. But for prayer to achieve that it must be more than just a wishlist. It must be a heartfelt conversation. We really should talk to God every day, throughout the day. Jesus prayed often and He is our example in everything. Jesus set aside His divinity and sought His Father daily for strength in order to face the trials that lay before Him.
Seeing then that we have a great High Priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession. For we do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin. Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need.
- Hebrews 4:14-16 NKJV
Jesus knows what it is like to go through the struggles we face daily. Jesus’ humanity made prayer a necessity, and if the Son of God felt the need to spend time in prayer how much more should we sinful human beings? We ought to feel the need for fervent constant prayer. I believe we don’t pray more often because we have become accustomed to fighting in our own strength and failing, we just assume that is all there is to life without tasting what life would be like if we were to draw closer to God in prayer more regularly.
When all the people were baptized, it came to pass that Jesus also was baptized; and while He prayed, the heaven was opened. 22 And the Holy Spirit descended in bodily form like a dove upon Him, and a voice came from heaven which said, “You are My beloved Son; in You I am well pleased.”
- Luke 3:21 NKJV
And when He had sent the multitudes away, He went up on the mountain by Himself to pray. Now when evening came, He was alone there.
- Matthew 14:23 NKJV
Now it came to pass in those days that He went out to the mountain to pray, and continued all night in prayer to God.
- Luke 6:12 NKJV
Now in the morning, having risen a long while before daylight, He went out and departed to a solitary place; and there He prayed.
-Mark 1:35 NKJV
It is our privilege to drink from God, who is a fountain of boundless love. It is inconceivable that we pray so little. God is willing to hear the sincere prayer of the humblest of His children, but we are unexplainably reluctant to come to Him in prayer. God’s heart of infinite love yearns towards us, ready to give us more than we can even think (Ephesians 3:20), and yet we pray so little and have so little faith.
Think about the angels who love to bow before God and to be near Him. They regard communion with God as their highest joy; and yet us mere humans, who need so much the help that God only can give, seem satisfied to walk without the light of His Spirit and the companionship of His presence.
When we neglect to pray we are enclosed by evil influences. The whispered temptations of the enemy entice us to sin; and it is all because we fail to make use of the privileges that God has given us in the divine appointment of prayer.
Why should the sons and daughters of God be reluctant to pray, when prayer is the key in the hand of faith to unlock heaven's storehouse, where are treasured the boundless resources of Omnipotence?
-Steps to Christ p94
We must pray without ceasing and watch diligently, otherwise, we are in danger of growing careless and of deviating from the right path. The adversary seeks continually to obstruct the way to the mercy seat, that we may not by earnest supplication and faith obtain grace and power to resist temptation.
“Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you.
- Matthew 7:7 NKJVHe who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things?
- Romans 8:32 NKJV
If we regard iniquity in our hearts, if we cling to any known sin, the Lord will not hear us; but the prayer of the penitent, contrite soul is always accepted. Give up, surrender to God any known sin in your life. Do not hold on to sin knowing it is against God’s will. I understand that our own merit will never commend us to the favor of God; it is the worthiness of Jesus that will save us, His blood that will cleanse us. However, we do have a responsibility, a work to do in complying with the conditions of acceptance. God is calling us into a relationship and it requires our willingness to accept Him not only as our Savior but as our Lord as well.
