29. What is Prayer?

Key Verses / Passages

Then you will call on me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. Jeremiah 29:12

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Discussion

When it comes to our Christian Walk, prayer is a significant cornerstone of our faith as it is our way of talking to God (who is our loving Father). You might think of the movies where one kneels by their bedside or collapses to the floor, crying to the heavens, but prayer is something that is continual and daily, where we know who we are talking to.

This is how we unpack prayer: speaking to God through the Holy Spirit.

Speaking to God - The Apostle Paul in his New Testament letter to the Ephesians (2:18) writes, “For through [Jesus] we both have access to the Father by one Spirit.” It is through prayer (speaking to God) that we can directly talk to God. He hears us from Heaven! (Matthew 6:9).

Through the Holy Spirit – The Apostle Paul in the book of Romans 8:26 tells us that “The Holy Spirit helps us to pray”. Even if we don’t know where to start, God, through the Holy Spirit, knows what is on our hearts and speaks for us, even during wordless groaning!

To put it simply, prayer is a simple conversation with God that is 2 ways. We speak to God about what is on our hearts and minds and hear from Him about what He wants to share with us.

When we pray, there are 3 possible answers with God: Yes, no and wait. Yes, it's when you receive what you prayed for, sometimes immediately. No is sometimes an obvious reason why not; other times, we may not understand straight away why the answer is no. Wait is God telling us to wait for the right timing. We might receive answers to our prayers immediately or over years and years.

You can pray anywhere, anytime (Ephesians 6:18), alone (Matthew 6:6), as a regular pattern, and with others (Matthew 18:20). So, when you pray to God, keep it real, keep it simple, and keep it going!

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Reflection / Questions

•       Have you ever tried praying? How did it go?

•       What do you think about the idea that God answers prayer?

•       Have you ever prayed, and a coincidence happened?

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Prayer

God, thank you for being available to hear me through prayer. Thank you for loving me and desiring to meet my needs. As I make time to spend with you, I ask that our relationship will continue to grow like that of a child and their loving father.