Prayer – a conversation with God
The most important things that we can do for ourselves and for others. Prayer is not a magic bullet that will solve all of our problems. Prayer is a conversation with God. Prayer is not talking to the room air, it is talking with the God who created the very air that we breathe.
Look at what Paul wrote in 1 Timothy 2:1-7, he wrote:
First of all, then, I ask that requests, prayers, petitions, and thanksgiving be made for all people.
Paul says “First of all.” He is saying that our worship begins with prayer. One commentator wrote:
First of all does not mean that the first order of worship when believers assemble is that they engage in prayer, but that it is the most vital part of their worship. It is essential to victory over their spiritual foes. A prayerless church is a powerless and defeated church, but a praying church is a conquering church[1]
Did you catch what was said there? “A prayerless church is a powerless and defeated church, but a praying church is a conquering church.” A prayerless church is a powerless and defeated church.
We should be known as people of prayer. It is through prayer, through our conversations with God that God hears from us and we hear from God.
On the day that Jesus ascended to heaven, those first disciples returned to Jerusalem. I was reading that account and noted something that I had probably skipped over many times in the past. Luke wrote in verse 14 of chapter 1 of Acts:
all were united in their devotion to prayer
I don’t know why I had never noticed that verse before. They were all united, not only the Apostles but Luke includes the women as well. All of them were united “in their devotion to prayer.”
That word devotion has the meaning of giving yourself to the task. In this case, their devotion to prayer was giving or dedicating time to prayer. What happened a few short days later? The Holy Spirit came and transformed them from the inside out, filling them with the power of the Spirit.
Why is that important? Why is devoting ourselves to prayer important? Paul wrote in his letter to the Ephesians:
10 Finally, be strengthened by the Lord and his powerful strength. 11 Put on God’s armor so that you can make a stand against the tricks of the devil.
12 We aren’t fighting against human enemies but against rulers, authorities, forces of cosmic darkness, and spiritual powers of evil in the heavens.
13 Therefore, pick up the full armor of God so that you can stand your ground on the evil day and after you have done everything possible to still stand. 14 So stand with the belt of truth around your waist, justice as your breastplate, 15 and put shoes on your feet so that you are ready to spread the good news of peace. 16 Above all, carry the shield of faith so that you can extinguish the flaming arrows of the evil one. 17 Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is God’s word.
18 Offer prayers and petitions in the Spirit all the time. Stay alert by hanging in there and praying for all believers.
Ephesians 6:10-18 CEB
We are in a war, the battle is not against other people, but it is a spiritual war that we are engaged in. Paul said that we are to “be strengthened by the Lord and his powerful strength.” How do we connect to the Lord and his powerful strength? We connect with that through prayer.
On these and subsequent pages you will find some great resources to help you develop your prayer life.
[1] Nicholson, R. S. (1966). The Pastoral Epistle of I Timothy. In Romans-Philemon (Vol. 5, pp. 580–581). Grand Rapids, MI: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company.
