The Importance of Prayer

Someone recently proposed the question, “What is the point of prayer if God’s will is just going to be done anyway?” This question weighed heavily on me for several weeks. It wasn’t so much that I was doubting the significance of prayer in one’s life or even my own, but how does one even go about explaining the importance of prayer and its impact on both present and future? Puzzled, I decided to turn to the one place where I knew I could always receive proper spiritual guidance: the biblical teachings of Dr. Charles F. Stanley, both founder and pastor of In Touch Ministries located in Atlanta, Georgia. Since I am a Virginia resident, I first discovered Dr. Stanley when I was experiencing a rather difficult and trying time in my life. It took someone very close to me to help me recognize that I needed to get right with God, strengthen and deepen my relationship with Him, become open to how He wants to work in my life, and also to recognize that above all else, God should be the primary focus in all of our lives. I had not been to church in years, and at the time, I had a work schedule that did not make going to church very feasible. That is when I decided to explore the internet to see if I could find a church that posted audio recordings or videos of sermons to watch and listen to during my free time. This of course is how I discovered Dr. Stanley and In Touch Ministries on YouTube. His sermons taught me so much about how to fully commit my life to God. I learned about the importance of waiting on God’s timing, patience, the work of the Holy Spirit, and so much more.

With the hopes of finding some answers regarding the importance and impact of prayer, I began to explore the website for In Touch Ministries and stumbled upon a blog written by Dr. Stanley himself. What he wrote was exactly what I needed to hear. In the blog, he lists and explains the seven habits of living a godly life. Can you guess what was listed as #1? Dr. Stanley listed A Life of Prayer as the first habit of living a godly life. To me, the fact that he listed this first signified its importance. A life of prayer was perfectly modeled by Jesus. Dr. Stanley wrote, “Although the disciples and the crowds did not understand why He withdrew when there was so much good He could do, Jesus knew that prayer was an important priority of His life” ( 2020).

The problem is, people don’t seem to make prayer a priority in their everyday life. In fact, for some, prayer becomes somewhat of a chore- something they must do every night before they go to sleep, rather than a desire to pray at any time throughout the day. A friend had once told me that they usually only pray when they are in a bad situation, or pray to give thanks when something good happens. Hearing this, I realized that prayer was so much more than simply praying for relief during times of trouble and heartache, and it was so much more than simply “giving thanks” when we receive a blessing. This would signify that prayer is only a priority when things are going either really bad, or really good. But what about the in-between? Who do we choose to turn to when things aren’t so clear.. When things aren’t in black and white? Prayer is truly the secret to everything; not only can we gain guidance, direction, comfort, and reassurance through prayer, but this simple everyday habit also allows us to develop and strengthen a personal, intimate relationship with our Lord and Savior. Acknowledging this, I began to reflect on my own prayer life. More often than not, prayer made me nervous, as I often didn’t know exactly what to pray. All I knew for sure was that my ultimate goal was to strengthen and deepen my personal relationship with God, but the truth is, I really didn’t know how to go about doing that. But then I realized that I was making things far too complicated. After all, how does one go about strengthening their relationship with anyone? They do so by taking the time to get to know them, spending time with the person and by talking to them. This is exactly how I began to go about strengthening my relationship with God. Prayer became more than simply praying during times of trouble and giving thanks when things were going good, it became a daily conversation where I set aside some time during the day to sit alone and talk to God, just as if I were talking to a family member or someone close to me. Sometimes I would simply just talk about how I felt or certain aspects of my day. I would recall encounters and conversations with other people. I was glad whenever I felt I made a difference or had a positive impact on someone else’s day. But there were instances where I’d later feel uneasy or restless whenever I responded negatively to someone else, whether it be getting impatient, or lashing out at someone whom I felt had wronged me in some way. Talking to God about these things allowed for deep reflection. Whenever I felt uneasy or restless about a decision or response I had made during the day, I would open my Bible, turn to the index, and I would usually find a passage or verse that had to do with responding properly to feelings of anger or impatience. This is just one example of how when we dig deeper in prayer and seek counsel through the word of God, the Holy Spirit has the most unique ways of bringing something to our minds and our hearts, and teaching us how we can go about responding and behaving differently going forward (though that is not to say we will never make mistakes). Being sensitive to what the Holy Spirit is saying can alter our entire outlook. Whether or not we are resistant or obedient to this guidance ultimately affects how we respond to other people and situations, and also how we respond to our internal battles. But one must first be able to discern between God’ voice, the voice of the world (friends, family, and others), the voice of the enemy, and of course, our own voice. The stronger our relationship with God, and the more commitment we give to Him by spending time with Him through prayer, reading His word, and meditating on His word, the more we actually get to know Him, what He’s really like, why He allows certain things to happen, and how He works. 

I believe that the stronger your relationship is with God, the more sensitive you become to hearing His voice. The primary way God communicates is through His word. It could be that he brings a certain verse or passage of scripture to your attention many times. An example of this for me was when I was asking for God’s guidance and direction regarding my job. I happened to be watching a movie for school one day and verse 7 of Matthew chapter 7 came up. A few days later, I was praying with my Bible right beside me and I asked God again to please speak to my heart and show me what to do. I flipped open my Bible to a random page and began to read for a little while, and ended up landing on that very same verse in the book of Matthew. The next day I was watching a sermon online by Dr. Stanley and lo and behold, that very same verse was mentioned again. Over time, I learned that this is one of the many ways God may communicate with His children. If He finds multiple ways to communicate the same message, then it is probably important, and we should pray for God’s guidance on what it means to us personally and how we should apply it to our everyday lives. 

According to the words of Dr. Stanley, “praying is serious business because it is how we communicate with God, but it is also how He communicates to us”. Getting to know God is extremely important when it comes to building a personal and intimate relationship with Him. As I previously mentioned, ‘how does one go about strengthening their relationship with anyone? They do so by taking the time to get to know them, spending time with the person and by talking to them.’ In Dr. Charles Stanely’s book, “In Step with God”, he shares his own valuable insight. “Having close friends-intimates-is very reflective of God’s nature because this is exactly what He desires from you and me- a close, personal, and especially intimate relationship” (Stanley, 2008, pg.3). Dr. Stanley proceeds by encouraging us to consider our human relationships. “As long as you hold someone at arm’s length, you cannot know him or her. However, the moment you open up and begin talking to the other person, you start to develop a relationship. If you keep your emotional walls up, then the other person will sense this. Over time, he or she will find a way to break through or break away. Friendships-abiding relationships-can exist and grow only through mutual intimacy” (Stanley, 2008, pg. 4). The two words, ‘mutual intimacy’, practically jumped off the page to me. In order for any relationship to thrive, both individuals must get past the barrier of holding someone only at arm’s length. A certain level of trust and commitment must be given, as well as a strong desire to get to know the individual on a deeper level, as opposed to just scratching the surface. The same goes for our relationship with God, as He desires for us to give Him that very same level of trust and commitment that we give our friends, family, and significant others. That is why prayer- a daily conversation with the Lord- is so important. After all, could you imagine a relationship where you never communicate with the other person? God desires that we communicate with Him daily, through prayer. When we put God at the center of our hearts and thinking, it is truly amazing what God is able to do in and through us.

As I mentioned, prayer should be a daily conversation with our Creator; however, that is not to say it is wrong to pray during times of difficulty or confusion. After all, God wants us to bring our concerns to Him, and also trust that He will always work things out for our good and according to His will. So, going back to the question, “What is the point of praying if God’s will is just going to be done anyway?” It is important to recognize that God makes a difference through prayer in lives and situations. Even in the midst of trials and hardships, it is also important to recognize that God doesn’t need ideal situations, He can work through anything. Though God may not always answer our prayers in the manner or timing in which we’d expect or prefer, He does always answer. In response to the question, I would also like to note that even though it is God’s desired will that we all seek Him and pray no matter what we are going through, God is omniscient. So of course, He already knows beforehand whether or not we will choose to pray and maintain our faith, even in times of hardship. 

Sometimes we may pray to God about a particular area in our life multiple times before we receive an answer. When this happens, don't become discouraged. Keep in mind that only God knows when and whether or not we are ready to receive the answer to our prayers. Sometimes that answer may be a "yes", other times it may be a "no" or a "not yet". Praying won't alter God's will, but it can still give us some clarity and allow us to understand His will better. God always allows things to happen for a reason, but in the midst of heartache, trials, and hardships, it is important to understand that there is always something to be gained, and so it is important to ask God what He wants us to learn in the midst of our situation.

One passage in the Bible that demonstrates how God can make a difference through prayer is in Acts chapter 12, starting in verse one. ‘It was about this time that King Herod arrested some who belonged to the church, intending to persecute them. He had James, the brother of John, put to death with the sword. When he saw that this pleased the Jews, he proceeded to seize Peter also. This happened during the Feast of Unleavened Bread. After arresting him, he put him in prison, handing him over to be guarded by four squads of four soldiers each. Herod intended to bring him out for public trial after the Passover. So Peter was kept in prison, but the church was earnestly praying to God for him.

The night before Herod was to bring him to trial, Peter was sleeping between two soldiers, bound with two chains, and sentries stood guard at the entrance. Suddenly an angel of the Lord appeared and a light shone in the cell. He struck Peter on the side and woke him up. “Quick, get up!” he said, and the chains fell off Peter’s wrists.

Then the angel said to him, “put on your clothes and sandals.” And Peter did so. “Wrap your cloak around you and follow me,” the angel told him. Peter followed him out of the prison, but he had no idea that what the angel was doing was really happening; he thought he was seeing a vision. They passed the first and second guards and came to the iron gate leading to the city. It opened for them by itself, and they went through it. When they had walked the length of one street, suddenly the angel left him.

Then Peter came to himself and said, “Now I know without a doubt that the Lord sent his angel and rescued me from Herod’s clutches and from everything the Jewish people were anticipating”. 

When this had dawned on him, he went to the house of Mary the mother of John, also called Mark, where many people had gathered and were praying.’

This is a perfect example of how God can make a difference through prayer, even in an unideal situation such as Peter’s. I think about how much Peter meant to the ones that were praying for him. They cared so much for Peter, that their hearts went out to their friend, and they earnestly prayed to God for help. By definition, earnestly means with sincere and intense conviction. So, they were whole-heartedly praying to God on Peter’s behalf, acknowledging their dependency on Him in a situation that was quite clearly out of their control. I also like to take notice on the fact that they did not give up in praying for Peter despite how grim the situation actually was. They likely even prayed on behalf of Peter more than once. This is significant, because I think many times people start off praying to God, but because the situation does not change immediately, we have a tendency to become discouraged and to stop praying. But according to the words of Dr. Stanley, “If you want God to do something, with many things, coming to Him just one time isn’t going to cut it. Because with some issues and situations, God has to have time to arrange the situations in order to answer your prayers”. Jeremiah 33:3 states, “Call to me and I will answer you and tell you great and unsearchable things you do not know”. 

So, it is important not to stop praying just because our prayers are not answered on our schedule. Months or years could go by, but if the person or situation in which we are praying about still matters to us, then it still matters to God. Knowing this should be both comforting and motivating. The way I see it, how long we are willing to wait demonstrates just how much value we place on whatever it is we are waiting for. Ultimately, God is going to be the one that rewards patience, obedience, and perseverance. 

References

Zondervan. (2014). Niv teen study Bible. NIV teen study Bible. Grand Rapids, MI.

Stanley, C. F. (2020, March 16). Retrieved from https://www.intouch.org/read/blog/the-way-you-want-to-live 

Stanley, C. F. (2008). In step with God: understanding His ways and plans for your life. Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson.

Author's Note

So, this isn't so much a story as it is my perspective on the importance of prayer. As a Christian, I have learned that prayer is essential to having a personal relationship with God. God both encourages and expects us to bring our concerns and to hand over our worries and troubles to Him, but prayer is so much more than simply praying during times of trouble and giving thanks when things are going good. Prayer should be a daily conversation, where we take some time to get in God's presence.

Reviews

[Jibey]

I so agree... but the bit that's missing from this is listening. Prayer is not just about talking to God. The Bible is His word to us. Too many people never read it or head the message it contains, but then expect God to listen to them when they're in trouble.