Prayer. Christian or not, chances are you know what the word means. A staple of religion in general, prayer signifies the act of communication between God (for Christians) and man. When your Sabbath school teacher asks a question about how to apply the lesson to your life, a common answer to provide (especially if you were not listening) is to pray. It is considered the most basic of acts yet is often taken for granted. But why should you pray?

Because Jesus Prayed

This alone should be reason enough to pray. Jesus knew His identity and mission. He was One with the Father. Yet, He still retreated in solitude for a long night to pray. This is what Jesus did! He taught His disciples how to pray in Matthew 6. Even in the final moments before the crucifixion, we find the apex of the Great Controversy battle in Jesus’ life occur in the Garden of Gethsemane. Where, of course, He was praying. Think about the level of prayer Jesus needed to continue His ministry. How much prayer do you need?

Because it unlocks Power

Philippians 4:6 calls us to make our requests known to God through prayer. Matthew 7:11 reveals God is on the edge of His seat to give gifts to those who ask Him. Jeremiah 33:3 reveals that God will show us many things we need to know when we call to Him. Prayer is our connection with God! We do not need to go through any other person to have access to God. Through Jesus Christ, who works on our behalf, we can reach out across the divide and communicate with the One who loves us.

Consider this:

Prayer is the opening of the heart to God as to a friend. Not that it is necessary to make known to God what we are, but in order to enable us to receive Him. Prayer does not bring God down to us, but brings us up to Him. (Steps to Christ p93).

Or this:

Prayer is the key in the hand of faith that unlocks heaven’s storehouse, where are treasured the boundless resources of Omnipotence.

Fighting a war requires much power. If you want to defeat the enemy, cut off their access to supplies. The devil knows that if he can get us to stop praying, then we are essentially orphaned. At that point he can easily take us down.

Prayer in its context

Remember friends, prayer is not just a ceremony performed before meals and bedtime. It is a lifeline that enables us to be strong as we wrestle against principalities and powers. As the controversy takes place in the mind, we must remember that prayer helps us keep fighting.

Now that we’ve established the reasons to prayer, stay tuned for our sermon this week as we look at some applications of prayer!

A day hemmed with prayer is less likely to unravel