Prayer… what is it? Why do we do it? What do we expect to get from it? Are there right ways and wrong ways to do it? How do we know if we’re doing it right? There’s a lot here to think about and we should think about it. Prayer appears to be a form of communication like calling someone on the phone, but it’s distinct because of who we’re seeking to communicate with. Which raises questions like: What should we be praying about? Why does the Lord want us to pray? Can we expect a response from Him? If so what form(s) will that take?

The importance of prayer is evident in the Bible. Barren women conceived after they prayed. Whole nations were spared destruction as a result of prayer. Jesus engaged in prayer “religiously” during His earthly ministry. And He provided a fundamental example of what prayer should look like:

“Our Father who is in heaven, Hallowed be Your name. Your kingdom come. Your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our debts, as we have forgiven our debtors. And do not lead us into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.”(Matt 9:13)

Among other things, this prayer provides some aspects of what this exercise is about. God is addressed and His holiness is recognized. His agenda for establishing His kingdom is referenced along with His sovereignty. And He’s viewed as the source for our well-being, from what we eat to how we live, and acting as our protector in a fallen world. Praise God!

Given its significance, questions still remain regarding how and why we pray. Is it just to do what we’re told? Do we tailor the content of our prayers to our specific needs or repeat what we’ve been given in the scriptures and the traditions of the church? In order to answer these questions I think we should start with the fundamental idea that God is a personal and self-conscious being, whose image we reflect in ourselves. (Genesis 2-3) He is God and His power and majesty are beyond compare, but He’s also a God with whom we can have fellowship; we have an opportunity to have a relationship with Him that includes communication. This communication is extended to the believing church as a whole and to individuals like you and me. You can find a pre-Christian example of this personal dimension in the way in which the Lord and Moses interacted during the exodus. (Exodus 3, 33) During their journey it was often the case that the people failed to do what they were told and complained about their circumstances in the wilderness. This prompted Moses and the Lord to have conversations regarding how to respond, reflecting the personal nature of their relationship. Obviously the Lord was revealing Himself in a way that could accommodate the limitations of Moses, but it still reflects the personal dimension in their interaction.

I would suggest that Christians are in a much better position to communicate with the Lord than Moses. We’ve been given new life in Christ. God by His Spirit has come to dwell within our souls enabling us to have a kind of relationship with God that Moses never had. This relationship was anticipated when Jesus instructed His disciples during His earthly ministry. He used the metaphor of a vine and its branches, declaring that the disciples needed to abide in Him in order to bear the righteous fruit that would give glory to God the Father. (John 15) We’re not just adherents of a teaching; our faith has opened up a new dimension to our existence. We can have a communion with God which should energize our prayer life. And this can lead to an environment of expectation in our prayers. We’re not just saying words into the air, we’re attempting to commune with our heavenly Father as we pray. But we need to understand this and believe it. And we need to be informed by scripture so that we can pray in a manner that’s consistent with the Lord’s agenda. Trying to persuade God to give us that mansion on a hill and a new sports car won’t produce the results we want; even if we got what we asked for it wouldn’t fulfill our real need which is to have fellowship with the one and only God. It’s in fellowship with God that our sense of self is fully realized and prayer can be a dynamic aspect of that fellowship!

However, this type of prayer is something that needs to be developed. At first it may feel like we’re just speaking words into the air when we pray. It’s different than other conversations that we have. I use the term “conversations” to indicate the potential that prayer holds for real interaction with the Lord. But when we pray we don’t see and hear who we’re talking to the way we do when we converse with other people. We can see them or, if we’re talking or texting on the phone, we can picture them in our minds. But prayer is different; it’s a spiritual interaction that employs our hearts as well as our minds. I’m using these terms loosely to describe how we communicate in general. Conversation with other people involves more than just conveying information. In the process of speaking to someone there is often an aspect of feeling that is involved. We get a sense of the person to whom we’re talking. This may be derived from what we see, what we hear, or what we feel if we’re touching them as we converse. But if we’re paying close attention there may be something intangible that we can sense as well. What I’m suggesting is that communicating with others can involve more than just the five senses.

When it comes to conversing with the Lord our prayer is enhanced by the Holy Spirit who dwells within us. This should prompt us to develop our communication with Him. Rather than simply telling Him what’s on our mind, we need to learn how to listen to Him. Hearing from Him won’t usually involve an audible voice, but He can speak to us nonetheless. It may be that He’ll bring to mind a particular portion of scripture, or a conversation we’ve had in the past with someone we know. It may be that an idea just pops into our head, something we hadn’t thought of before, or something that we know but haven’t thought about lately.

An example of this is something that happened to me in college. I had taken a math course on differential equations, which involves utilizing calculus in problem solving. I spent three semesters learning calculus but when it came to this course I was completely lost. And the friend who helped me get a handle on calculus had graduated and was no longer available to aid me. I tried going to the instructor and to friends who had already taken the course, but no one seemed to be able to explain it to me. On the eve of the final exam it looked like I would probably fail the test and the course as well. As a last ditch effort I went over to the library and spread out the notes I had taken throughout the semester. My plan was to begin at the beginning and see if I could figure it out. However, before starting I bowed my head and prayed asking the Lord to help me. Then as I started to turn the pages something amazing happened: I saw it! For the first time I could see how it worked! I knew it wasn’t just the product of my own mind; it wasn’t the result of manipulating the numbers, I could see and understand it. In fact solving the problems became easy almost immediately. The result was that I got a really good grade on the exam and passed the course! That was exciting not only because I was saved from failure; more importantly it helped me realize the immediacy God. He’s right there with us wherever we are and He’s willing to listen and respond to us. His response may not always be immediately evident or so dramatic, but we can trust Him to hear and respond to our concerns.

Along with gaining a better understanding of the effectiveness of prayer this experience enhanced my relationship with Him. I was learning that I wasn’t isolated within myself; God was with me and I could communicate with Him. However I’ve also learned that prayer needs to be conducted with care in order for it to be effective. As sinners saved by grace we bring a lot of baggage with us into our relationship with the Lord. And we’re immersed in a world that’s informed by another spirit altogether. In order to counteract the effects of these circumstances our prayer needs to be conducted deliberately and regularly. And it needs to be informed by an ongoing study of scripture. The writer of Hebrews tells us that in order to draw near to God we need to have faith in His reality and expect Him to respond to those who seek Him. (Hebrews 11:6) And Paul tells us that the written word encourages us to have hope. (Romans 15:4) These three aspects of the Christian walk—faith, prayer, and scripture—work in concert with one another and need to be regularly engaged. Taken together they can provide us with great expectations for progress in our walk with God.

As the Apostle Paul has told us: “Devote yourselves to prayer keeping alert in it with an attitude of thanksgiving…” (Colossians 4:2)