“But Jesus Himself would often slip away to the wilderness and pray [in seclusion].” – Luke 5:16 (AMP)
Prayer is one of the most important spiritual disciplines in the life of a believer. It is our means of communicating and fellowshipping with God, expressing our worship, presenting our needs, seeking His guidance, and aligning our lives with His will.
Jesus Himself demonstrated the importance of prayer by regularly withdrawing to pray (Luke 5:16; Mark 1:35). Prayer must become a lifestyle for every believer who wants to live like Jesus did. Jesus taught His disciples to pray because of how important it is to their lives.
Prayer builds our relationship with God. Prayer creates intimacy and fellowship between the believer and God. Through prayer, we draw closer to Him and learn to recognize His voice and leading. As a believer prays, his heart is drawn close to God and he’s able to recognize God the more. There is no intimacy with God without prayer.
Prayer also gives the believer access to God. Through Christ, believers can approach God’s presence with confidence rather than fear.
Hebrews 4:16 says:
“Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need”.
When the believer prays, he’s in God’s presence boldly to pour out his heart and to receive from God.
Life brings trials, temptations, and challenges and a man who prays has an advantage over all these. Prayer strengthens us spiritually and helps us depend on God’s power rather than our own strength. The strength of man fails, but since prayer is a sign of dependence of God’s strength, then when life’s challenges come, the believer is able to sail through.
Being a believer doesn’t make you immune to temptations, in fact, temptations to sin come more because you are a believer and the devil wants you to lose your identity. For this reason, Jesus specifically instructed His disciples to watch and pray so that they would not fall into temptation. And this what prayer does to the believer.
Matthew 26:41:
“Watch and pray, lest you enter into temptation.”
Prayer keeps our hearts spiritually alert and dependent on God. Praying as a believer is as important as breathing as a human being. It is our life line and also, a command from God, “pray without ceasing”. We are expected to keep on pray and never stopping. No praying man has anything to lose and he is never at a disadvantage.
Action Point: Pray today. Spend quality with God today, speaking to Him and listening to Him as He speaks to you.
Confession: The life of God is inside me and I am not stranded. I receive the strength to pray at all times and to entirely depend on God.
Related Scripture: Luke 5, 18
Bible Reading: Exodus 28
