The Power & Simplicity of Prayer

For many of us, having a consistent prayer life is challenging. Why is that? Why is prayer not always our first response to sin, doubt, fear, pain, and even joy? Is there a spiritual battle to prevent us from praying? Is it because of false beliefs or unbelief about prayer? Yes, any and all of the above. Prayer is powerful, beautiful, and vital for us. By the end of this article, we will all, hopefully, be encouraged to have a more consistent and healthy prayer life.

The Power, Beauty, and Privilege of Prayer

Prayer is communicating with God in adoration/praise, thanksgiving, confession, supplication, and resting/waiting on Him. Prayer is commanded by God; it is how we stand strong in God’s Power during our pilgrimage (Ephesians 6:18). The prayers of God’s children are pleasing to Him like sweet-smelling incense (Ps. 141:1-2; Rev 5:8). They deepen our relationship with God as we witness his faithfulness in answering and working through them - though his answers do not often look like what we expect (Ps. 116:1-4; 12-14). They are powerful and effective - they make things happen. This is not because of some inherent power or merit in us but because God, in his Sovereignty, has ordained that he will accomplish his purposes through the prayers of his people (2 Cor 1:11; Phil. 1:18-19; Eph. 6:18-19).

The Simplicity of Prayer

Prayer is not a monstrous task as we can make it out to be. I used to feel I did not pray enough if it did not last for at least 30 minutes. The prayer of a Christian is a mighty weapon in our daily spiritual battles but it does not follow that it needs to be physically extraneous or long. In fact, Jesus warns about thinking that God hears us better when we use lengthy and wordy prayers (Matt. 6:7-8). Jesus is not forbidding long prayers at all. His point is that our prayers’ lengths or complexities do not determine their power. God is the one who holds the power and has the last word. So, here are some encouraging things:

• Prayer does not have to be lengthy. A 5-minute prayer can be just as effective and pleasing to the Lord as a 50-minute prayer.

• We don’t have to cover all topics and all people every time we pray. If you can do that, do it. But the command to pray for all men, at all times, and for everything is about the steadfastness and scope of our prayer life - not how many people and topics we should cover every time we pray. What I mean is that there are people for whom we may pray only once a year or once in our lifetime. It is okay. I believe in prioritizing praying for people God has placed in our immediate circles. Our lives must simply be marked by a habit of praying- at any point of the day. Our mindset must be that there is nothing and no one we can’t bring before God - at any point of the day. (1 Tim 2:1-3, 1 Thess. 5:16–18; Eph. 6:18, Phil. 4:6; Col. 4:2, James 5:13-14).

• We don’t have to fully articulate our thoughts before praying. God knows it all before we open our mouths. The Holy Spirit helps us in prayer (Romans 8:26).

• Don't wait to feel ‘clean’ before praying. The Muslims clean up with water before praying because they think it makes them pure before God. We must not have the same mindset. Christ is our righteousness. By Faith in Him, we can confidently approach God covered by his atoning blood. If we have sinned, we ask for forgiveness in Jesus’ name and God is faithful and just to forgive us.