What is Prayer and Does it Really Work?
Exploring Faith from a Biblical Perspective
Have you ever wondered what prayer is all about or if it really works? As someone exploring faith and seeking to grow in my relationship with God, I've been on a journey to understand prayer better. Let me share some things with you that I’ve learned.
Just like breathing keeps us physically alive, staying connected to God through prayer keeps us spiritually alive.
—Bart Blair
First, what is prayer? Prayer is a universal instinct found in virtually all cultures to call out to a higher power or God-like figure. But while chanting mantras or reciting rote prayers in God's direction is one form of prayer, true prayer, from a Christian perspective, is actually conversing and communicating with God directly.
Ultimately if we believe that prayer is a means of communication with God, our focus really needs to be learning how to converse with God, not just chanting or reciting things in God's direction.
So prayer isn't just about saying the right words, but about having an authentic, two-way conversation with the living God. Prayer is like breathing. It's something that you simply have to do to stay alive. Lungs without air basically debilitate you. You can't function. And a life without prayer is like lungs without air. You just can't function. You can't operate. You can't have a life that's full of vibrancy and connection with God without having prayer be a significant component of it.
Just like breathing keeps us physically alive, staying connected to God through prayer keeps us spiritually alive. The Apostle Paul even instructs Christians to "pray without ceasing" (1 Thessalonians 5:17). Prayer isn't meant to be an occasional thing, but a constant connection and conversation with God.
But how do we pray "the right way"? Is there a secret formula? There’s an example in Psalm 51 where King David pours out his heart to God with raw honesty and humility after committing adultery and murder. He doesn't make excuses but owns up to his sins and asks for forgiveness and cleansing based on God's unfailing love and compassion.
If you want to go up, you must first go down...God says that we need to exercise humility in life and this certainly transfers to our prayer.
Approaching God with a prideful or self-righteous attitude is counterproductive. We need to humble ourselves, admitting our sins and imperfections, and cast ourselves on God's mercy, not our own merits. This applies both to coming to God for the first time and confessing faith in Jesus, as well as to followers of Jesus who continually need to realign ourselves with God when we stumble.
2 Chronicles 7:14-15 says:
““If my people who are called by my name will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sins and restore their land.””
There are three key steps laid out here:
1) Humble yourself,
2) Pray/seek God's face, and
3) Repent/turn from wickedness.
And this isn't a one-time deal, but an ongoing process.
Humble, repent, pray. Humble, repent, pray. Repeat that daily.
No matter how much we've messed up or drifted away from God's path, He promises to hear us when we humbly turn back to Him and pray. What an amazing thought! The almighty Creator of the universe inclines His ear to us when we call out to Him. Prayer connects us to God relationally.
I’ve learned that my relationship with God can really grow deeper when I see prayer not as an impersonal ritual but as an intimate conversation between me and our Heavenly Father. While I still have a lot of growing to do in my prayer life, I'm inspired to approach God with greater humility, honesty, and consistency.
True prayer isn't about impressing God or others with fancy words, but simply opening up our hearts to Him. We don't have to have all the answers or pretend to be perfect. We can come to God as we are, admitting our failures and struggles, and receive mercy and grace to help in our time of need (Hebrews 4:16).
No matter where you're at in your spiritual journey, know that God desires an authentic relationship with you. Prayer is the means by which we can foster that connection. If you've never taken that step of confessing your need for God's forgiveness and surrendering your life to Jesus, I encourage you to do so. He promises to cleanse us, restore us, and walk with us as we learn to follow Him step by step.
God's absolute favorite prayer is the one in which a person, for the very first time, admits their need for Jesus, admits that they're broken, admits that they're messed up and they need a fixer, they need someone to bridge that gap for them, someone to make them whole spiritually, someone to make them whole and fix them relationally. And that's what Jesus is all about.
If you're already a follower of Jesus, don't neglect the amazing privilege of prayer. Make time regularly to humble yourself before God, confess any known sins, thank Him for His blessings, and lay your requests and burdens before Him. He cares and is eager to commune with you.
I'm on this journey of learning to pray too. While I still have a lot of room for growth, I'm so grateful that God accepts me as I am and patiently teaches me to walk with Him day by day. Prayer is a vital part of staying connected to Him.
Let's commit to making prayer an ongoing conversation in our lives, not just an occasional ritual. As we do, I believe we'll experience greater intimacy with God and see Him work in and through us in amazing ways.
"Jesus, we're so grateful that you give us this do-over, this spiritual do-over - a spiritual rebirth, the chance to get clean, to get right...We confess to you that there are things that we've done that we shouldn't have done, things we've said we shouldn't have said, things we thought we shouldn't have thought, actions we've taken that weren't a mistake but were true rebellion. We confess that to you and just ask you to forgive us and ask you to lead us again into the righteous path, the path, the place that you want us to be."
Amen! Let's embark on this exciting adventure of prayer together.
Check out this article for folks just starting out in their faith journey