Why Would Anyone Want to Pray?

It’s time consuming, it’s boring, it’s hard to know how to do it, and it really doesn’t seem to matter all that much.   These are just a few of the more common attitudes amongst Christians concerning prayer. The truth is, all of these grumblings are for the most part warranted depending on how a person understands what prayer is. If prayer is understood as merely folding your hands, bowing your head, using impressive words, all to do nothing more than to get God to do something, I’d say it would definitely make sense for that person to think of prayer in this way.

But…if prayer is understood to be the way we personally communicate with the Creator of the Universe in a way that expresses our trust in and dependence on Him, prayer begins to mean something different. When prayer is seen as a gift from the Lord, an undeserved gift of grace, prayer begins to become not so boring. When prayer is seen as something Jesus died for, the “how to” of prayer becomes something a person pursues, instead of an excuse. If prayer is understood as being possible only by the blood of Jesus being shed on the cross removing from us the holy and just wrath of a holy and just God, prayer begins to seem a whole lot less time consuming. When prayer is understood as a gift God has given us because
He wants us to be involved
in what He is doing for His eternal kingdom, prayer more than matters — it becomes crucially important.

God desires and demands that we pray. Jesus told us to pray privately, and instructed us to pray together. There is no “I” or “me” in the Lord’s prayer, but “us” and “we” are found throughout. Praying together, as a Church body, increases each individual’s faith and increases the effectiveness of our prayers. Believers find strength in praying together.

New Life, let us pray. Let us do so privately in our homes and together on Sunday mornings and outside Sunday mornings, because indeed,

prayer is not a burdensome tool, it is a desirable gift.

Every first Sunday of the month we are holding a prayer service at the church. We do not want any hindrance to prevent people from attending the prayer meeting. For those who have children, we know how difficult finding a babysitter can be, so we will begin to offer childcare on the nights of the prayer meetings. Our next meeting will be a week from today, the 6th of December. Please join us as we come before the throne of grace and speak with our loving Heavenly Father. New Life, are we dependent on ourselves or on God? Nothing acknowledges and speaks more clearly or profoundly a dependence on Him and not on ourselves, than prayer. Let us pray.