Why Pray?
Give ear, O LORD, to my prayer; and give heed to the voice of my supplications! In the day of my trouble I shall call upon You, for You will answer me.
R. A. Torrey, a former president of Moody Bible Institute in Chicago, once wrote ten powerful reasons why believers should pray:
In other words, the question should not be why should we pray, but how can we afford not to pray?
Just look at that list! It is not exhaustive, by the way. All one needs to do is look into a few of the Psalms to find that prayer should be the most vital part of a believer's life. Just as a wife cannot have a good relationship with her husband without speaking, so also a believer cannot have a good relationship with God if there is no communication. Prayer is how we talk to God, and His Word is how He speaks to us.
It baffles me how shallow our view of prayer has become in the church today. Think about our own perspective: when there is a crisis with a family member—a child is rushed to ICU; your father has a heart attack; your sibling is experiencing depression—what is the first thing that believers often say in these circumstances? "Well, I guess all I can do now is pray."
I can't tell you how many times I've heard that in these past few years; I've said it myself. I don't know where this "last-resort" idea comes from, but it is terribly wrong.
Prayer isn't the last thing—it's the best thing that you and I could ever do for anyone.
He's listening . . . are you praying?
Prayer Point: 1 Peter 5 says to "cast our anxiety upon the Lord, for He cares for us." Thank God for never turning a deaf ear to your call to Him, and for always listening to your supplication.
Extra Refreshment: John 17—the prayer of Jesus.
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