Why prayer

Prayer is a process through which we learn to trust God. He listens to us patiently. He takes our requests seriously. Then He considers everything in the context of the bigger picture only He can see. God knows better than you do what the eventual outcomes of every situation will be. If you pray for dry weather for an outdoor event your church has planned, God might know of another reason why it needs to rain that day.

You know when I sit and when I rise; You perceive my thoughts from afar. You discern my going out and my lying down; You are familiar with all my ways. Psalm , NIV. If God knows what you are thinking, why is He so concerned about you talking to Him?

Because prayer is one of the main ways you develop a connection with God. Instead, he suggests that the peace of God in your heart and mind is somehow more likely to satisfy you and ease your fears than if He fixed or explained everything immediately. Through prayer, you develop a trusting relationship with God. Over time, you also learn to recognize His voice as He speaks to you. The Bible clearly shows Him choosing to act in response to the prayers of His people. Through prayer, God transforms your heart so that having your requests fulfilled becomes secondary to feeling truly known by God and precious to Him.

God invites you to pray in all circumstances. Prayer is essential to the way He transforms you, and the Bible encourages you that your prayers can have a powerful effect in the world. So what can you expect to see happen as you commit to praying regularly? You will recognize that you are not God. I need something more, someone else. You gain strength from God Himself. You realize the world does not begin and end with you.

Being dependent on someone else to meet your needs is humbling. When infants cry or scream, someone usually comes and meets their needs. Whether you pray for yourself or another person, you acknowledge that someone else — God — is the center of the universe.

You acknowledge that He needs to change something about you or the situations you are bringing to Him. You surrender control to somebody else. Everyone craves control to one degree or another. You communicate your real feelings about a situation. Prayer creates a safe space to process your thoughts and feelings. Do you feel ready to give God control of your life? Do you feel safe being completely known by God, or does that make you feel exposed? Over time, as you pray, you will feel able to bring the real you to your moments with God.

You trust that God is with you. You feel inspired to take steps of faith. Perhaps you have a desire to be bolder in talking about what you believe. Or maybe you have a neighbor or colleague you feel God nudging you to go deeper with.

Praying for that person is a step of faith in itself, because God may invite you to be part of the answer to your own prayer.

Explore what it means to take a step of faith. The Bible shows God waiting to act in response to prayer. God knows what He wants to do in the world and in our individual lives. He wants us to lean on Him in every situation, and He wants to change the world through us. Read more about how God acts in response to our prayers. These are just a few of the outcomes when people come to God through prayer. As you choose to bring all your fears, hopes, ambitions and desires to God, you will see Him respond in ways that speak to you specifically.

All of those are natural responses. Prayer is a mysterious activity because, in prayer, you choose to humble yourself before someone you cannot literally see, hear or touch. Here are just a few reasons why people sometimes decide not to pray — and what we think God wants to say to you if one of these reasons keeps you from praying.

You are not alone. God never promises to answer prayers the way you want Him to. But as you spend time with God by praying and reading the Bible, you will develop trust in Him. This trust guards your heart during times when you feel let down by God, or even angry with Him. God is also completely willing to listen to you no matter how you feel about Him at that moment. Or he just for Sunday mornings? God wants to be in your life every day, all day, not just on Sunday.

He wants all hours of your week, not just the 1 you spend in church. What happens when you make prayer part of your every day , not just your Sunday?

How often do you talk to your best friend? To your spouse? To your children? Probably more than once a week, right? Developing a strong relationship requires frequent communication.

The more we talk to each other and have quality conversations, the better our relationship will be. The same is true with God. If you desire a deeper, more meaningful relationship with God, you need to talk to him more than once a week. You need to have frequent, quality conversations with him. Giving your life to Jesus is not a one-time event, but a daily discipline of submission. Praying daily is part of that discipline. Not a rule or qualification, but an act of love for the One who loves you dearly and wants to lead your life.

Daily prayer is a way you express your devotion and commitment to God, giving him a priority in your day, precious time from your schedule. He may do that through answering earthly needs, or he may do that by working in your heart to shift your focus to him. When you spend regular, frequent time in prayer, you allow God to do his work in your heart. Through prayer, he will transform your life and bring you to new joy in him. Learn for yourself why prayer is important.

Experience the power of prayer when you commit to regularly spending time with God in prayer. Prayer — especially regular, daily, personal prayer — can transform your day and your heart.

I know your day is busy so is mine! Prayer helps you find direction in your life. Prayer gives you strength to avoid temptation. Pray with Missionaries. Sign Up to Meet with Us. Invite missionaries to pray with you online or in person. Name and email. Address and phone. Additional info. First Name First Name Please enter a value. Last Name Last Name Please enter a value.

Email Please enter a value. Subscribe to weekly inspiring emails. Please select an option. Country Please choose a country Country Please select a country. Sorry, we couldn't find any addresses that would help you. Address Please enter an address. Address line 2 Address line 2.

City City Please enter a city name. State State State Please select a state. Address Verification. We were not able to find an address that matches your input. Please try making changes to it, or you can choose to keep it as it is and submit the form.

We couldn't find that exact address. Suggested address corrections are highlighted in red. Please choose one of the following. We found a perfect match for your address. If that looks right to you, go ahead through the form! You Entered:. Did you mean:. Edit Address. Yemen Zambia Zimbabwe Phone number for scheduling Please enter a value.