Over the next few weeks I want to run a series of posts about prayer. Prayer always has been and always will be an essential element of the Christian life, but in the turbulent times we face in our world today perhaps we could say, “Now more than ever.”
The first question we need to address is, What is prayer? Or, more to the point, What is Biblical prayer? Is it a set pattern of words that we repeat over and over? Does it have to be in the language of the sixteenth century? Should it be in Hebrew, the language of the Old Testament? Is there a difference between praying and saying prayers? Do we have to have a set, formal time for prayer? Do we need to pray in a particular place.
First and foremost, prayer is communication from our heart to God’s heart. It should be a reflection of the relationship we have with God. Someone who only knows God in a formal, distant manner might try to communicate with Him through formal, distant prayers, but if we truly know Him as our Father, then we will talk to Him just as we would talk to our earthly father. We don’t need to read a written prayer, or to speak in any special language.
Whilst it is helpful to set aside a particular time and place for prayer, we should never restrict our prayer life only to that time and place. As we grow in our relationship with God, we will find ourselves chattering to Him throughout the day about all kinds of things.
At the same time, we need to keep in mind that God is not the same as our earthly father. He is the King of the universe. What an incredible, awesome privilege that He should invite us to come right into His presence! That He should allow us to talk to Him, and to bring our requests before Him! As we think about that, we begin to move into another level of prayer, the level of worship, which we will talk more about in a later post.
Then there is the level at which we come to God not just for ourselves and for our own needs, but for others. This again can lead into an even deeper level, that of intercession, which we will also address more in a later post.
The most important thing, whether we are just beginning our journey of prayer or are seasoned prayer warriors, is to remember that it is all about relationship. Just as any earthly relationship needs communication to keep it going, so does our relationship with God.
Are you a Christian called to intercession? Would you like to be part of King of Glory Ministries International’s intercessors network, The King’s Warriors?