Here is an interesting thought: “God knows everything. He knows what I need and He knows what’s going to happen. Why should I pray?” You may have heard this question or thought some variation of it yourself. The answer to the question, “Why pray?” is an important one for the Christian. We need to answer it for our own prayer life and we need to be able to answer it for those who don’t yet know the God we love.

First let’s talk about what prayer is. Prayer develops our relationship with God our Creator. We pray for communication with God. As we communicate we allow Him to change our hearts – our wants and desires - so that they align with His. When we pray and pour out all of our anxieties and fears, we allow God to instill His supernatural peace within us. (Philippians 4:6) We develop trust that our Heavenly Father’s will for us is right in every circumstance. And because of this trust we know that He answers our prayer.

Prayer involves all three persons of the trinity.
• We pray to God the Father. He is on the throne – the center of our worship.(Ephesians 3:14)
• We pray through God the Son - Jesus Christ. It was His sacrifice that removed the barrier of sin so that we are free to approach the throne of God. Jesus is our High Priest and He intercedes for us with the Father. (Romans 1:8, 5:1-2, Colossians 3:17 Hebrews 4:14 – 5:3)
• We pray in the power of the Holy Spirit, according to His promptings. The Spirit even helps us pray – praying for needs and longings so deep that we can’t even verbalize them. (Ephesians 6:18, Jude 20, Romans 8:26)

Prayer involves petition – asking for something for ourselves or for someone else, but more than that:
• Prayer also involves worship – praise and adoration – reminding ourselves that God is the Creator and Sustainer of life.
• Prayer involves confession – telling God of our violations of His law and agreeing with Him that it is sin.
• Prayer involves thanksgiving. We are thankful for all the blessings we receive through His grace. (God’s riches at Christ’s expense.)
• Prayer involves faith. We trust and believe that whatever we ask in Jesus’ name (as His representative) will be ours. When we don’t trust God for the answer, we are of two minds - our faith is not firm and we will not get our answer. (James 1:6-8)
• Prayer involves a two way conversation. God speaks back to us. God speaks to us through the Bible – His written word. It is important that we read it for ourselves so we know what He has recorded there for us. He also speaks to us through the peace that He gives us or through the uncomfortable feeling that we get when we’re heading down the wrong path.

Prayer evolves.
We begin by asking for things or for direction in a certain circumstance. We may not see the answer but we go our way glad that we consulted God.

As we continue to pray, we develop a more comfortable relationship and start telling Him about our concerns and about the blessings.

Prayer continues to evolve. Besides regular quiet time appointed for specific, heartfelt prayer, it is a constant communication with the One who designed us, knows us inside and out, and who we trust and know for certain wants the very best for us. (Romans 8:28) Prayer becomes as natural as breathing out and breathing in. We are developing that close relationship that God meant for us from the beginning of time when He walked with Adam in the garden.

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