There are so many books on how to pray, when to pray, and how often to pray, but nothing compares to the teachings of the Bible on prayer. I’m not saying that you shouldn’t read the other books. As a matter of fact, I’m reading one now and I love it. What I’m saying is that no other author can teach us about prayer like Jesus did. When it comes to prayer, our go-to should be the Bible, first and foremost.

When I was a kid I was scared of the dark. Growing up as a Navy brat, we moved a lot and into so many different houses that I was never able to get used to one place. Most of the houses on the military bases had wood floors. They creaked and squeaked with every movement, even when the house would settle at night. Each little sound had me calling out for my parents and, boy, let me tell you, they would get so mad at me after the second or third time! If my dad came in, he would often tell me to pray. I wasn’t raised in a home that prayed a lot and I didn’t really know what to pray, so I would repeat the prayer that goes, “Now I lay me down to sleep, I pray the LORD my soul to keep…” It helped. I never understood why at the time, but now I truly know that God is the One who brought me peace and helped me get to sleep.

Being a small child, I was innocent in my prayer life and that is why God heard me, but did you know that, as we get older, if we are living a sinful life, God won’t hear us? Psalm 66:18 says, “If I had cherished iniquity in my heart, the LORD would not have listened,” and Isaiah 59:2 says, “But your iniquities have separated you from your God; And your sins have hidden His face from you, so that He will not hear.” But, if we are a “righteous man” as noted in James 5:6, our prayers are effective and they “avail much.” We want our prayers to be heard because they can be the most powerful form of defense against Satan’s schemes in our lives and the lives of others.

C.H.Spurgeon once said, “Prayer should be the natural outflow of the soul: you should pray because you must pray, not because the set time for praying has arrived, but because your heart must cry unto your LORD.” I get up the morning and I say some prayers before I get out of bed, but I’ve noticed that my prayers are always the same and for the same things. It’s like an immediate thought when I wake up, but I don’t believe those early morning prayers are my best ones because I’m not fully awake and I’m saying the same thing I said yesterday and the day before. It isn’t until I’m fully awake that I can really talk to God and get into battle in my prayer room. “And when you pray, do not use vain repetitions as the heathen do (Matthew 6:7).” Let your prayers be genuine, like a personal conversation with the LORD. “But you, when you pray, go into your room, and when you have shut your door, pray to your Father who is in the secret place; and your Father who sees you in secret will reward you openly (Matthew 6:6).”

In Matthew 6:9, Jesus taught the disciples how to pray: Hallow the LORD’s Name, let His will be done, ask for daily provisions, ask for forgiveness, help us to forgive others, be our help through temptation, give honor to God forever. I love how Jesus gave us this example because now we know how our prayers are most effective. Jesus prayed often, not just for Himself, but for others as well. If we seek to be like Him, we ought to pray like Him too.

Prayer not only helps us to get our day going, but it’s a very effective way to get peace during trials and it is a great way to intercede on behalf of our friends and family too. So many people around us are going through terrible things and they need for us to pray for them. Every time I open social media, I see people requesting prayers for illness, homelessness, death in the family, depression, etc. I’m pretty sure that, if I prayed for five minutes for every single person, it would fill up my entire day. Most of the time I close my eyes and say a quick prayer, asking for God to provide for this person and that His will be done in that person’s life. Our prayers don’t have to be long and drawn out, but it’s definitely important to pray on their behalf.

Did you know that the Holy Spirit prays for us when we don’t know what to pray? “…but the Spirit Himself makes intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered (Romans 8:26).” Not only did Jesus intercede for us, but the Holy Spirit who lives in us also prays on our behalf. I have often sat in my prayer room during my most difficult trials and just cried, not knowing what I should be praying for. I’ve cried out to God, telling Him that I don’t know what to do or how to do it, and He has been faithful to bring me some peace. We are so blessed to have a God who loves us enough to bring us comfort when we need it most.

I could go on-and-on about prayer and its importance, but then this post would turn into a book. Today I just wanted to share with you what God put on my heart to say about prayer. I pray for you often and I want you to know that I’m here to listen if you need an ear, but so is God. he wants to hear from you today and every day until we are with Him face-to-face. Let your prayers seek His will and purpose for your life and I promise you won’t regret it. God does powerful things through our prayers and He wants to do a work in you, friend.

If you need prayer, please feel free to email me at joleen@thevirtuoussoul.org. I want to pray for you or hear your praise reports. You are loved beyond measure!