"Jesus never taught Disciples how to preach but How to pray.”
Prayer is an essential key to growing spiritually in God’s grace. The Bible tells us that thousands of references belong to prayer. Its start Genesis and even Revelation say to the prayer of saints in heaven. Gospel Mission Ministries Pakistan encourages believers to spend a good life with God. We pray to communicate with our Creator God. Prayer methods may vary, but the overall purpose is the same.
The Bible is rich with wisdom about the many reasons humans can and do pray and why God welcomes us to pray to Him.
Let’s explore these reasons and what Scripture teaches us about prayer:
- We pray for help and guidance
- We pray to spend time with God
- We pray to praise and thank God
- We pray to confess and improve
- We pray to strengthen our faith
- We pray because God asks us to
Why do we need to pray to a God who knows everything? We’ll start with the most common reason people think about praying—for help.
WE PRAY FOR HELP AND GUIDANCE
The ever-present opportunity to communicate with God is an invaluable gift. It’s a privilege to use prayer to request help from our caring heavenly Father. The Bible provides us with promises that God hears our prayers for help (1 John 5:14; Philippians 4:6, 7) and that we can cast all our “anxieties on Him” (1 Peter 5:7).
We can pray at home with the family, during quiet time alone, with another person, or in a group. And throughout the Bible, we see many examples of this.
HANNAH PRAYS FOR A CHILD AND TO BE DELIVERED FROM HER DISTRESS
Hannah desperately wanted a child but couldn’t get pregnant—a condition many women can relate to. Additionally, she was ridiculed by her husband’s other wife, who could bear his children. Still in agony, she went to the temple and made a vow to God in prayer. She prayed,
O Lord of hosts, if you will indeed look on the affliction of your servant and remember me and not forget your servant, but will give to your servant a son, then I will give him to the Lord all the days of his life, and no razor shall touch his head. – 1 Samuel 1:11 (ESV)
Hannah’s prayer was answered (1 Samuel 1:20). In the next chapter, we can read her full prayer of gratitude (1 Samuel 2:1-10). She named her son Samuel and dedicated him to God to be a servant at the temple. Later, he became one of the most well-known prophets of the Bible.
HEZEKIAH PRAYS FOR THE RESTORATION OF HEALTH
Hezekiah became extremely ill. The prophet Isaiah visited Hezekiah on his deathbed to warn him that his death was near. This message, while meant to prompt Hezekiah to get his “affairs” in order, drove Hezekiah to pray as his life depended on it. Then Hezekiah turned his face to the wall and prayed to the Lord, saying, ‘Now, O Lord, please remember how I have walked before you in faithfulness and with a whole heart and have done what is good in your sight.’ And Hezekiah wept bitterly. – 2 Kings 20:2-3 (ESV)
