The thought of approaching God’s throne should cause us to tremble; yet, prayer should not be a frightening experience. The writer of Hebrews tells us that we can approach God’s throne boldly (Hebrews 4:16) and with the full assurance of faith (Hebrews 10:19-22). Prayer should bring us strength, comfort, joy, and courage all at once. We should be thankful that we have such a wonderful blessing.
Prayer is a source of power that brings us in touch with the Creator of all things. If you knew of a way that you could obtain deliverance from trouble, strength in weakness, guidance in times of crisis, comfort when lonely, peace amid confusion, success after failure, and riches that would not fade away, would you want access to that way? Well, that way is prayer.
We should always remember what it took for us to gain the kind of access to God that we presently have. It took the blood of our High Priest, Jesus Christ (Hebrews 9:11-28). Sadly, prayer is a blessing neglected by far too many Christians. To neglect prayer is to show that we do not appreciate it as we should. Let us show God that we are thankful for the ability to pray by praying to Him regularly.
Why should we pray? Here are a few reasons.
- We Need God’s Help
Someone once prayed this prayer: “Dear God, so far today I’ve done all right. I haven’t gossiped. I haven’t lost my temper. I haven’t been greedy, grumpy, nasty, selfish, or overindulgent. I’m very thankful for that. But in a few minutes, God, I’m going to get out of bed; And from then on, I’m probably going to need a lot more help. Amen.”
It is hard to live the life of a Christian. Those who say it is always easy to be a Christian probably have a low view of Christianity. Indeed, we need God’s help because the devil is not only real, but he is actively pursuing his goal of destroying as many souls as he can (1 Peter 5:8). As a result of the devil’s continuous efforts, man is constantly tempted to do evil. Prayer helps us with that temptation (Matthew 26:41).
- Blessings Come through Prayer
The words of James come to mind here. James said, “…yet ye have not, because ye ask not” (James 4:2). In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus assures us that God will respond to our prayers (Matthew 7:7-11). Of course, our prayers must be according to the will of God (1 John 5:13-15), but if they are, John assures us that God will give us that for which we ask.
- Prayer Strengthens Us
We should never underestimate the power of God and the strength that we can receive from Him if we tap into that strength through the avenue of prayer (Ephesians 3:20; Philippians 4:13).
If you pray regularly, you will come to realize that many blessings come through prayer, and you will be thankful for having such access to the throne of God. Let us all make a habit of praying every day. We will never regret it.
As you wind down for the night, think on these things.