Heaven is God’s abode and Christians live on earth, which is a very great distance from heaven. And yet, we can pray to God and our prayers are always heard and answered. How can this be, one may ask. In human terms, is it possible? Of course, it definitely is. God created prayer to be an essential factor in the Christian’s life and service. Prayer is God’s means of communication with Himself. Therefore, there can be absolutely no distance in prayer as far as God is concerned.
Throughout human history, millions have proven and testified to the reality and significance of prayers. During His earthly ministry, the Lord Jesus Christ always took time to pray to God, His Father in heaven. If Jesus saw the necessity of prayer, how much more we who are the children of God our heavenly Father. Prayer provides access to God. No wonder God told the prophet Jeremiah “Call to me and I will answer you, and will tell you great and hidden things that you have not known” (Jeremiah 33:3). God invites us to pray to Him and He will respond in “miraculous” ways .
On two separate occasions, and under different circumstances (Matthew 6 and Luke 11), the Lord instructed His disciples about prayer. It has been a well-known and well-loved prayer. And when studied, teaches us many great and wonderful things we need to know about the nature of prayer.
“Prayer is the Christian’s vital breath, The Christian’s native air” (Hymn writer James Montgomery 1771-1854). British poet Alfred Lord Tennyson (1809-1892) wrote, “Pray for my soul. More things are wrought by prayer than this world dreams of. Wherefore, let thy voice rise like a fountain for me night and day.”
God, in His divine wisdom, knowledge. and understanding is aware that His children would need help in our prayers to Him. The Bible is therefore the Christian’s great resource about prayer and tells us all we need to know of this “godly exercise.” For example, there are times when Christians are so stressed or troubled that they can hardly pray. But God makes adequate provisions through His Holy Spirit to intercede for us with “groanings that cannot be uttered,” and thus presents our needs to God (Romans 8:26,27).
In his commentary on Romans 8:26,27, Dr Charles Stanley writes, “When we do not know how to pray, the Holy Spirit teaches us to communicate in a whole new way. He not only soothes our hearts as we lay our burden at the throne of grace, but also empowers us to become everything we were created to be (Heb. 4:16, Phil. 4:6). He hears our inner cries, guides us by applying scripture to our lives, and instructs us perfectly about how to do His will” (The Charles F Stanley Life Principles Bible, p. 1349).
Christians can rest in perfect assurance that God has established a “throne of grace” where we “with confidence draw near to” at any time. The Bible explains: “Since then we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus, the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession. For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin. Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need” (Hebrews 4:14-16). The Lord, our great high priest, is also our great intercessor—“since He always lives to make intercession for them” (Hebrews 7:25). Thanks be to God for this great and wonderful provision.
Someone has said that prayer is a “great stress reliever.” And this has proven to be true. Part of the first stanza of “What a Friend we have in Jesus” reads, O what peace we often forfeit, O what needless pain we bear, all because we do not carry everything to God in prayer.” When we neglect to pray as we should, we will miss the many “great and hidden things that you have not known” (Jeremiah 33:3). God never fails to honor His word. And we can also confidently claim His precious promises because the “yes” to God’s promises are in Jesus Christ. “For all the promises of God find their Yes in Him [Jesus Christ]. That is why it is through Him that we utter our Amen to God for His glory” (2 Cor. 1:20).
Some Christians readily admit that need to pray more often. Many of us have busy lifestyles, which make it hard to schedule sufficient time for prayer. Since prayer is an essential part of our Christian faith, we must take the time to pray. One of the great beauties of prayer is that we can pray ether in silence or aloud. We can also prayer kneeling, standing, sitting, walking, and perhaps in other positions. Many of us “old timers” rather prefer kneeling because it seems to suggest deep reverence for God. Suffice it to say no matter what our posture is, God will hear and answer our prayers in accordance to His will and purpose.
Don’t be distracted, keep on praying because “The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working” (James 5:16). As the apostle Paul concludes his first letter to the Thessalonians, he writes, ”Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you” (1 Thessalonians 5:16-18). We can clearly see that it is God’s will that we pray.