Why pray?

Prayer is like oxygen in the christian walk

A lack of oxygen is fatal. It doesn’t take long before you lose consciousness when there is a lack of oxygen. Prayer is the oxygen in the christian life; without it we lose consciousness.

It is not important how we pray, just that we actually do pray. There is an existential concern that we build a culture of prayer which does not just get the church to have a rich prayer life, but where individuals are also inspired and trained to have an active prayer life when they are alone. The one will affect the other.

How much focus do we have on prayer in our lives and in what way do we want to teach the next generation to have a rich personal prayer life through our churches? Have we though about this?

Worship is an important part of our prayer life and praise and celebration in our worship services help people to draw near to God and put words on what He has done for us. In addition, it is important that our teachings and applications make prayer attractive and help people to activate a glowing, pulsating prayer life of their own. When being in God’s presence, talking with Him, prayer for our own and those of others, perceiving what God is saying, and then walking in the gifts of the Spirit connected to prayer all become a natural part of our christian life, God will then manifest Himself. A church who prays and has taught its members the secrets of prayer will create a new foundation for God to work in supernatural ways.

It is imperative that each believer is introduced to the potential that there is in an active prayer life. A life in prayer goes deeper, stands fast when trials come, produces faith when the mountains of impossibilities rise up, creates spiritual authority, keeps our love for God steady, and opens the ears of our hearts to understand God’s will. The one who prays meets the needs of others in the most effective way possible. This is why prayer is so important.

I know that regular times of prayer in the middle of a busy daily life is a case of stretching our wills, not our feelings. When you make a decision and act on it, the fruit will come: both in the form of a stronger relationship to God and a life where the supernatural becomes natural.

Written by Anne Gustavsen

Translated by Emily Huyck