What is Prayer?

SHORT DEFINITION:
Prayer is the intentional offering of one's entire faculties to God in a sincere request of Him, His will, and His ways.

Psalms 46:10
Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth.

LONG DEFINITION:
Prayer is the intentional offering of one's entire faculties (heart, mind, body, soul) to God in a sincere request of Him, His will, and His ways. In our requests, we invite God into our lives to be our God and reign over us. In prayer, we come into the presence of God by turning our entire being to Him for the purpose of drawing near to Him and growing in knowledge of Him. In this, we call on Him while acknowledging Him and seeking Him.

Prayer is a most sacred and essential act of devotion and will. In prayer, we come into the presence of God by willfully pushing away the world and environment around us; and then devoting that moment of ourselves to God so that we may be united with Him. We come before God—not above God—in humility and reverent fear by kneeling down in submission. In this, we acknowledge the greatness of God and the need of Him to complete us. As such, our prayers take on the form of requests for ultimately what we are seeking is God Himself. We ask God for things because we desire Him to be our God and meet our needs.

Every relationship needs a point of communion where the two communicate and unite. Prayer is the fulfillment of our relationship with God. We pray because we desire God and want to be united with Him. Prayer is intimacy with God and Jesus noted this by saying in Matthew 6:6 "But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen." Our prayers should be honest and sincere. We come before God not to place demands or get what we selfishly desire. We come in love.

Prayer is an excellent gauge of faith. Ultimately, we are to be united as one with God to such an extent that our will is made to match God's will. In this, we desire what God desires. When we present a request before God, it should be something God desires. 1 John 5:14 says, "This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us." As such, we ask for God's will to be done. When our prayer is answered, it proves that we indeed have the same heart as God. However, when our prayers are not being answered, it shows that our motives are wrong. James 4:3 says, "When you ask, you do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, that you may spend what you get on your pleasures." If we ask, and do not believe God will answer our prayer, this also shows that something is wrong in our faith. Why is it we do not believe God will answer? Either it is something we know God does not like, or we are lacking faith in God. (Mark 11:24) Our prayers are answered when we truly want to do God's will and then do God's will. Jesus said in John 15:7 "If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be given you."

Prayer is an act of surrender. We pray as Jesus modeled in
Matthew 6:9b-10, "Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven." In this, we surrender our heart to God including all of our desires. We place God's heart above our own by requesting His rule and authority over all things and His will to be done. As Jesus prayed in the garden of Gethsemane, "Yet not as I will, but as you will." (Matthew 26:39b) By this surrender, our following prayer requests are also made in surrender. We ask, not demand, for what we believe God desires for us and not what we selfishly desire for ourselves (Luke 11:5-13). And by asking, we give up to God what is rightfully His: our heart, mind, body, and soul. We acknowledge Him as the provider and source of all good things, especially life.

Prayer is an act of devotion. If we are truly devoted to God, we will seek Him in all things. Before we act upon anything, we will pray and ask for God's counsel. We will ask that His will be done. We will place Him first above all things. James 4:2 says, "You want something but don't get it. You kill and covet, but you cannot have what you want. You quarrel and fight. You do not have, because you do not ask God." Without seeking God in prayer, we lack. The unquenchable lust of sin takes over our members. However, when we remain devoted to God in prayer, He is able to fill us and carry us through each day.

Prayer is essential in the life of a believer. (Ephesians 6:18; Colossians 4:2; 1 Thessalonians 5:17) We need God daily to give us life and sustain us by His Holy Spirit. Prayer is the way we offer ourselves to God through faith so that His word may fill us and be fullfilled through us. (Luke 5:13)

Faithful prayer is the means by which God fills us with His Spirit and power that we may be enabled to do His work. In baptism, we are immersed with the Holy Spirit. In prayer, we are filled with the Holy Spirit. We are baptized only once, but need to be filled regularly. This happens through faithful prayer. We do not come to God on our terms, but on the basis of God's revelation of Himself. In other words, we come in faith of Jesus Christ. We come to the source of life, that is Jesus Christ, in faith, calling upon Him to fill us with His Spirit that we might be controlled by His Spirit and enabled to do His will. This is evident in Acts 4:29, 31 where the disciples prayed that God would enable them. Acts 4:31 says, "After they prayed, the place where they were meeting was shaken. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and spoke the word of God boldly."

Prayer is also the way in which God works upon the earth. Because of this, we are called to intercede for all people. 1 Timothy 2:1-4 says, " I urge, then, first of all, that requests, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for everyone— for kings and all those in authority, that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness. This is good, and pleases God our Savior, who wants all men to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth." Prayer comes before any other work. The above scripture says, "first of all." We pray first for the Lord to come, for His will to be done, and for Him to work through us. We do not depend on our own power for salvation, but on God's power because we know God is the only one who can save.

Lastly, God does not answer the prayers of sinners. He has made this clear. Isaiah 59:2 says, " But your iniquities have separated you from your God; your sins have hidden his face from you, so that he will not hear." God does not answer cries for salvation due to pride. Job 35:12 says, " He does not answer when men cry out because of the arrogance of the wicked." Additionally, God will not hear our prayers if we do not first forgive others. Mark 11:25 "And when you stand praying, if you hold anything against anyone, forgive him, so that your Father in heaven may forgive you your sins."