Praying is communicating with God. Through prayer we come to know the all-powerful and loving God, and who He is; through prayer we allow God to direct our lives. Prayer shapes our lives. The need to pray seems to be built into the heart of all human beings. So it was natural for Jesus’ followers to ask Him to teach them to pray. He answered them by giving the prayer that the church has, for centuries, called the Lord’s Prayer.
Why pray? After all, someone might say, ‘God knows all our needs, why should we waste time troubling him? Can prayer make any difference? Does God really hear me?’
Why should we pray:
1. Prayer, especially praise in prayer, glorifies God. God deserves praise. Praising God puts the world into true perspective.
2. Prayer allows us to be involved in God’s actions in the world. God doesn’t need our prayers; He is perfectly capable of acting on His own initiative. But for some reason he likes and chooses to involve us.
3. Prayer allows us to enjoy fellowship with God by communicating with him. Christianity is ultimately about the relationship between God and us, and in order for a relationship to form and to be maintained there has to be communication.
4. Prayer allows us to receive God’s priorities for our lives.
5. Prayer allows us to set our lives to God’s exact and perfect way of living.
Praying the Lord’s Prayer is one thing – living it is something else. Join us over the next seven weeks as we explore the Lord’s Prayer.