“I will pray with the Spirit, and I will pray with the understanding also.” 1 Corinthians 14:15
The Bible is a prayer book, not because it is specifically all about prayer, but because in it we find the reason for prayer, the elements of prayer, God’s provision so that we can pray, and the promises associated with believing prayer which God will honor and fulfill. So why has God given to us in Scripture the testimony and experience of so many who have prayed to God, with the result of God hearing those, prayers, and answering them? Why is it that the Psalms are by their very nature, not only songs of worship and testimony, but a roadway by which any believer today can walk, and learn, not only the essential of praying, but the very specifics of true prayer?
In the book of Hebrews, we find, concerning the Lord Jesus as the believer’s High Priest, not only the mediator between God and man, but One which can be “…touched with the feeling of our infirmities,” who was also “…tempted like as we are, yet without sin.” (4:15) This Intercessor, who is constantly praying for every believer, is that One who is perfectly acquainted with every need of the human heart, and life. It is for this reason that in the Psalms, when we see the different authors of the Psalms pouring out their hearts to God in prayer, one is struck by the specific, honest, and profound needs of the individual. The prayer that God hears is that one which comes from the heart, a heart that is open before him, and seeking Him earnestly. What then is the worth of prayer, and why is it a means by which God is honored?
First of all, we get a glimpse at how precious the prayers of the saints truly are by beholding a scene in heaven. In chapter 5 of Revelation, we see the slain, yet resurrected Lamb of God, the Lord Jesus, coming before the Father to receive from Him a book which is held in God’s right hand. It is at the moment when the Lamb takes the book, that those before the throne who behold Him, fall down before the Lamb. With harps and gold bowls full of incense, singing a new song, they worship the Lamb. The importance of prayer is seen in the incense in the bowls, for they fill the bowls. That incense is the everlasting prayers of the saints, forever remembered in heaven, a very means of worshiping the slain Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.
Another measure of the importance of prayer is seen in the role it plays in the communion with Christ, with God. The Apostle Paul wrote to the believers at Corinth: “God is faithful, by whom ye were called unto the fellowship of His Son Jesus Christ our Lord.” (1 Cor. 1:9) The call of God to sinful man is for him to repent and believe, being born of the Spirit. But that call goes very much further than the forgiveness of sins, and the new birth by the Spirit. It is a calling to communion with the Son of God, and the Father, by the Spirit. Jesus made it very clear that eternal life is to KNOW God, and Jesus Christ whom He has sent. This knowledge of God is only possible by communion, or fellowship with Him. Prayer is one basic, essential element of communion, for by it the believer communicates with God, and God with him. Prayer is not a contrived device, or method of men, but a gift and provision of God by which the creature can call the Creator his Father, and the Lord Jesus, his Lord and Life. But how does one pray, seeing that prayer is so precious to God?
One begins always with the precious blood of Christ, which cleanses from all sin. The believer then approaches God in faith, according to the truth of God’s word. Lastly, he trusts the Holy Spirit for the present power to pray aright.
Dear Father, Make us truly prayerful. In Jesus’ name, Amen.