Part 1 - What is Prayer?

Very simply, prayer is communicating with God. Since He created us for a relationship with Him, we need to have a way to relate – and prayer is one of the most important ways to do that.

Let’s consider what an awesome privilege this is: God who is all-powerful and all-knowing, God who created the universe and everything in it, God who knows everything about the lives of everyone who has ever existed and ever will exist – this same God wants to communicate directly with you. It’s awesome.

There are a few basic things to know about prayer. The first is the fact that we pray to God the Father in Jesus’ name. Jesus made this clear to His disciples toward the end of His ministry. They were used to watching Him pray and get wonderful results. So they got used to asking Him specific things, He would pray, and His prayers were answered.

But the time came when He shifted this responsibility to them. He told them that He would be leaving but that they had to continue what He did. In Jn 16:23, He said, “And in that day you will ask Me nothing. Most assuredly, I say to you, whatever you ask the Father in My name He will give you.”

So just the way Jesus prayed to His Father, we are to do the same. But we are to pray in Jesus’ name – this is because it is only through Jesus that we can have any access to the Father. This is why when you hear Christians pray, they usually end with, “In Jesus’ name,” or something similar.

How great it is to know that God is always ready to hear our prayers and answer them!

Consider:

Think about how awesome it is that Almighty God listens to us.

Have you ever prayed and received the specific answer to your prayer?

Take some time to thank God for this great privilege we have.