The Importance of Prayer September 3rd, 2023
God of wisdom, you teach us with love, you touch us with mercy, and you challenge us with truth. Send your Holy Spirit to help us grasp your love, mercy, and truth in the Scriptures as we encounter your living Word today. Amen
This morning I’d like to share with you some thoughts on the importance of prayer. Prayer is not just a duty or a ritual, but a personal and intimate communication with our heavenly Father. Prayer is not just a way of asking for things, but a way of expressing our love, gratitude, praise, and worship to God. Prayer is not just a means of getting what we want, but a way of matching our wishes with God's will. Prayer is not just a one-way conversation, but a dialogue where we listen to God's voice and respond to his guidance.
The power of prayer is not dependent just on our words or our methods, but on our faith and our relationship with God. Jesus said, "If you believe, you will receive whatever you ask for in prayer" (Matthew 21:22). Faith is not a blind trust or wishful thinking, but a confident assurance based on God's promises and character. Faith is not passive acceptance, but an active obedience and a hopeful expectation. Faith is not a one-time decision, but an ongoing process and a lifelong journey. God may not always give us exactly what we want, but he will give us what we need. And having true faith is the basis of a sincere prayer life.
We see examples of the importance of prayer from when the Christian church first began in Jerusalem. We’re told in the Bible, in the book of Acts, that after Jesus ascended into heaven, his disciples went to the upper room of the house where they were staying. And what did they do as they waited for what would take place next? The Apostle Luke, who wrote Acts, tells us, “They all met together and were constantly united in prayer” (Acts 1:14).
And as Christianity began to grow and the number of believers multiplied, and they became more involved in the affairs of the church, they still didn’t neglect to pray. Once again, this is from the book of Acts, “They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers.” (Acts 2:42) One of the first priorities of the early church was prayer. It launched the church. And it sustained the church. So, it is important then, to understand why prayer is so vital to the church.
The power of prayer is not based on our own strength or ability, but on God's grace and sovereignty. God is able to do immeasurably more than we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us. God is not limited by our circumstances or our expectations, but he works in ways that are beyond our comprehension. God does not ignore our demands or our desires, but he acts according to his wisdom and his goodness. God is not indifferent to our needs or our emotions, but he cares for us with compassion and mercy.
God is omniscient, which means he knows everything. Indeed, he knows all of our needs, hurts, desires, and hopes before we ever express them in prayer. Jesus instructed his followers how to pray in what we commonly call the Lord’s Prayer. And he introduced the Lord’s Prayer with these instructions on how to pray: “‘When you are praying, do not heap up empty phrases as the Gentiles do; for they think that they will be heard because of their many words. Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him.’” (Matthew 6:7-8).
The act of praying is not restricted to certain times or places, but it is available to us at all times and in all situations. The Apostle Paul urged us to "pray without ceasing" (1 Thessalonians 5:17). We can pray in the morning and in the evening, in the public and in the private, in joy and in sorrow, in abundance and in want, in peace and in the turmoil. We can pray with words and with silence, with songs and with tears, with praise and with petitions, with thanksgiving and with confession. We can pray alone and with others, with friends, with family, and with strangers.
The power of prayer is not measured by our results or our feelings, but by God's glory and our growth. Sometimes we may see immediate answers to our prayers, sometimes we may have to wait patiently for God's timing, sometimes we may experience God's presence and peace in our prayers, sometimes we may struggle with doubts and distractions. But whatever the outcome or the emotion, we can be sure that God hears us, loves us, and works for our good. And as we pray, we are transformed into the likeness of Christ, who is the perfect example of prayer.
And we must trust that God will answer our prayers, even if it is not in the way we expect him to do so. The Apostle Luke tells us this story of God answering the prayers of his followers, “The very night before Herod was going to bring him out, Peter, bound with two chains, was sleeping between two soldiers, while guards in front of the door were keeping watch over the prison. Suddenly an angel of the Lord appeared, and a light shone in the cell. He tapped Peter on the side and woke him, saying, ‘Get up quickly.’ And the chains fell off his wrists. … Then Peter came to himself and said, ‘Now I am sure that the Lord has sent his angel and rescued me from the hands of Herod and from all that the Jewish people were expecting.’ As soon as he realized this, he went to the house of Mary, the mother of John whose other name was Mark, where many had gathered and were praying. When he knocked at the outer gate, a maid named Rhoda came to answer. On recognizing Peter’s voice, she was so overjoyed that, instead of opening the gate, she ran in and announced that Peter was standing at the gate. They said to her, ‘You are out of your mind!’ But she insisted that it was so. They said, ‘It is his angel.’ Meanwhile, Peter continued knocking; and when they opened the gate, they saw him and were amazed.” (Acts 12:6-7,11-16)
So, the housemaid Rhoda answers the knock at the door and recognises the Apostle Peter. She runs and tells the believers who were praying for the safety of Peter, telling them that he is standing safe and sound at the front gate. They refuse to believe her, thinking that the Roman ruler of Jerusalem, Herod, has already had Peter executed and so she must have seen his ghost.
You’d think the believers would have rejoiced at the news that Peter was still alive and had escaped from prison, but instead they accused her of being insane, they said to her, “You are out of your mind.” So, the answer to their prayers was standing at the door, but they didn’t have enough faith to open the door and let him in. One commentator said this: “God could get Peter out of a prison, but Peter couldn’t get himself into a prayer meeting.” But finally, we’re told, “Peter continued knocking; and when they opened the gate, they saw him and were amazed.”
The same thing happened after Jesus rose from the grave. This is from the Gospel of Luke, “But on the first day of the week, at early dawn, they came to the tomb, taking the spices that they had prepared. They found the stone rolled away from the tomb, but when they went in, they did not find the body. While they were perplexed about this, suddenly two men in dazzling clothes stood beside them. The women were terrified and bowed their faces to the ground, but the men said to them, ‘Why do you look for the living among the dead? He is not here but has risen. Remember how he told you, while he was still in Galilee, that the Son of Man must be handed over to sinners, and be crucified, and on the third day rise again.’ Then they remembered his words, and returning from the tomb, they told all this to the eleven and to all the rest. Now it was Mary Magdalene, Joanna, Mary the mother of James, and the other women with them who told this to the apostles. But these words seemed to them an idle tale, and they did not believe them.” (Luke 24:1-11)
The eleven disciples and some of the other believers were hiding in an upper room in Jerusalem, praying that they would be kept from harm and not sure what was going to happen next. The women, who were much braver than the men, had gone to the tomb to prepare the body of Jesus but found it empty. When they returned to tell the disciples what had happened no one believed them until finally the Apostle Peter ran to the tomb and saw it empty. The prayers of the disciples had been answered, but not in the way they expected.
And because God does not always answer prayer in the way we want him to, many people conclude that there is no point in praying. But that is wrong, for it is a rejection of all the Bible says about the purpose and power of prayer. The Apostle Paul didn’t have every prayer answered, but he prayed all the time and urged all believers to do the same. He wrote, "First of all, then, I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for everyone, for kings and all who are in high positions, so that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and dignity. This is right and is acceptable in the sight of God our Saviour, who desires everyone to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth. For there is one God; there is also one mediator between God and humankind, Christ Jesus, himself human, who gave himself a ransom for all.” (1st Timothy 2:1-6)
And not even Paul had all his prayers answered in the way he wanted. In his 2nd Letter to the Corinthians, he tells the members of the church in Corinth, “Therefore, to keep me from being too elated, a thorn was given me in the flesh, a messenger of Satan to torment me, to keep me from being too elated. Three times I appealed to the Lord about this, that it would leave me, but he said to me, ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for power is made perfect in weakness.’” So, Paul knew that not every time that you prayed would you have your prayers answered in the way you expected, but he never stopped praying. God makes us stronger in prayer. Conversation with him brings us what will sustain us and bring us closer to him.
Therefore, we must be men and women totally devoted to God in prayer. Only then will we fully understand this amazing relationship we can have with God, who loves us completely and unconditionally.
Jesus reminds us that the effectiveness of prayer begins simply with our willingness and desire to pray. “Keep on asking, and you will receive what you ask for. Keep on seeking, and you will find. Keep on knocking, and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks, receives. Everyone who seeks, finds. And to everyone who knocks, the door will be opened” (Matthew 7:7-8).
We pray because we want to acknowledge our dependence on a Father who loves us unconditionally. We pray because God not only listens but listens with concern and a willingness to respond to us. We pray because God delights in our relationship with him.
In the end prayer is not a burden, not a duty, but a blessed privilege. We should not pray because we must, but because we want to. Let us pray with confidence, expecting God will answer our prayers. Nothing is too great to ask, and nothing is too hard for our Lord.
Let us Pray:
Heavenly Father, we ask you to help us to pray without ceasing, trusting in God's power, living by faith, seeking God's glory, and growing in grace. This week especially, we pray for our children and families as they begin another school year. May they have a great year of learning. Also, we pray for our church community, we ask that you help make Sunday School a priority in their lives so that our young people will grow in your love and faith. We pray in the name of Jesus. Amen.