It is impossible to grow in our love for
God if we do not talk to Him. We talk to God through prayer. The more
we talk to Him in prayer, the deeper our love grows for Him. The more we
love Him, the more we desire to talk to Him, and the more we actually talk to
Him. In prayer, we communicate our thankfulness for all that God is in
and of Himself, and all that He has done. In prayer, we share our love
for God, our hope in Him. While God primarily speaks to us through His
written word, in prayer God shares with us His presence, His power, His peace,
and His purpose for our lives.
Prayer is Communication Within a
Relationship
Do we want to have a more vibrant love
relationship with the Lord? If the answer is yes, then experience that
vibrant love relationship through direct communication with God. The
depth and vibrancy of our love relationship with God has direct relationship to
the depth and vibrancy of our prayer life. Prayer normally takes the form
of words. In speaking prayer words to God, we should generally avoid the
continuous repetition of words and phrases we have copied from someone else and
that have lost personal meaning. Jesus Christ taught us, as He introduced
the model prayer, Matthew 6:7, “And
when you pray, do not use vain repetitions as the heathen do. For
they think that they will be heard for their many words.”
The words we do utter should
normally cover a vast array of thoughts and emotions that we experience
in our everyday life. In prayer, God desires to hear from the real
us. He desires genuine communication. No love relationship will
grow if there is never honest communication between the two parties in the
relationship. We know that God has communicated to us in absolute
perfection through His Son and His written Word. Now we are called by Him
to bring before Him every need, every desire, every temptation, every hurt,
every joy, every victory, everything. A great paraphrase of Philippians
4:6 is, “worry about nothing, pray about everything.”
Why Pray?
Numerous pastors have been asked the simple and direct question, “Why pray?” Volumes have been written in answer to this question. These volumes on prayer contain many wonderful reasons to pray.
We Love God
We Love God is the foundational reason for prayer. We all have people that we love deeply and that we love to talk with regularly. We pray to God because we want to communicate with the One we love. While it is not improper to pray to the second and third person of the Godhead, we primarily pray to the first person of the Godhead, God the Father. We learn this in the model prayer found in Matthew 6:9-13 and Luke 11:2-4. The model prayer begins, “Our Father in heaven.” We pray to our loving Father, our Abba Father, because we love Him. This is the first and most important reason for prayer.
A helpful exercise is to list four people
that you love and that you love to talk to on a regular basis. Under each
name on your list, describe the types of things you discuss with them. Then explain
how love is communicated between the two of you in the course of your
conversations. Now examine how this conversation compares to your
times of prayer with your Father in heaven. Is your prayer life as
intimate and love filled as your conversations with the four special people on
your list? Deuteronomy 6:5 “You
shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your
soul, and with all your strength.” Prayer is telling God how much you
love Him with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your
strength.