I mentioned on Sunday that I was going to publish a few blogs this week on the issue of prayer and our prayer lives. I am going to pick several topics about prayer, and then let the Bible speak for itself. Most of these will be lists with Scripture passages. In this blog I am going to list some of the reasons the Scripture gives us for prayer. Our ongoing communication with God is vital for our individual and corporate church spirituality. Here are reasons why it is so important.
1. God repeatedly commands our prayer – Romans 12:2, Colossians 4:2, 1 Thessalonians 5:17
2. Jesus is our model and he prayed often – Hebrews 5:7 Luke 5:16, Luke 6:12, John 17
3. Early Christians demonstrated the importane of prayer – Acts 1:14, Acts 2:42, Acts 6:4
4. Because the end of all things is near – 1 Peter 4:7
5. Prayer is effective in helping people overcome sin and struggle – James 5:16
6. Prayer is an important part of growing stronger in faith – Jude 20
7. God uses prayer to bring healing to the sick and forgiveness to others – James 5:13-15
8. Prayer brings glory to God – Revelation 8:2-4
9. God uses prayer to accomplish the miraculous in our lives – Mark 9:29, Matthew 21:22
10. We demonstrate our faith, dependance on God and hope in him when we pray – Matthew 7:7-11
11. God gives wisdom through our prayer – James 1:5
12. God will give the peace which passes all comprehension in the midst of our prayers – Philippians 4:5-7
13. Pray is a weapon against temptation – Matthew 26:41
14. Because we have been given access into the very presence of God – Hebrews 10:19-22
15. God hears the prayers of his people – Psalm 10:17, Psalm 65:2
16. God answers the prayers of his people – Isaiah 58:9
17. God will meet you at the secret place of prayer – Matthew 6:6
18. We will discover how to relate to God in a deep relationship, as a child to his or her Father – Matthew 6:7-9
19. It delights the heart of God – Proverbs 15:8
20. Because prayer is a conversation between you and your Creator – Psalm 119:147
