Why Pray?

Recently, I was reading a book written on prayer by John R. Rice. In that book, there is a chapter entitled “Why Pray.” As I read this chapter, I kept asking myself, “Why Not Pray?” Are our intentions when we pray God-centered or self-centered? Do we spend an adequate amount of time in prayer? How much is enough? The easy answer to those questions would be, “I can always pray more.” While that may be true, do we spend time in prayer the way God intended us to?

I went back to the original question of “Why Pray” and found where Mr. Rice listed some compelling reasons to pray and pray as God intended. Here they are:

1. Because God consistently commands it in the Bible – Luke 18:1
2. Because prayer is God’s appointed way for Christians to get things – James 4:2
3. Because prayer is God’s way for Christians to have fullness of joy – John 16:24
4. Because prayer is the way out of all trouble, the cure for all worry and anxious care – Philippians 4:6-7
5. Because answered prayer is the only unanswerable argument against skepticism, unbelief, modernism, and infidelity – 1st Kings 18:36-37
6. Because prayer is the only way to have the power of the Holy Spirit for God’s work – Luke 11:13
7. Because “whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.” – Romans 10:13

Why pray? Just think for a minute of what the world would be like if prayer was what we relied upon instead of ourselves or the words of man. Make it personal...what would we be like if prayer was our first action instead of our last reaction? Would we be more empowered to seek God and do his will instead of being burdened with our own? We know that prayer does change everything. The growth of our relationship with God hinges on how we communicate with him. God did not save us to be mediocre but a weak prayer life will lead us down that path. One way to grow in faith and strength with God is through prayer. D. L. Moody said this: “It is foolish and wicked to try to do God’s work without God’s power.”