I remember during my early years of being a Christian, I found it really difficult to pray.  I simply did not know how to pray and what exactly to say. Feeling very dishearten, I waited for our Sunday service to be over, and then I walked up to my Pastor and told him to teach me how to pray. Pastor Philip, took one look at me and knew immediately how distressed and desperate I was. He sat me down gently and told me simply that there was no method in prayer except in being truly genuine and to speak to GOD from within. I knew there was truth in his advice but I wasn’t entirely satisfied. I went home and did as I was told but eventually as time passed my prayer life was strengthen and my prayers became effective prayers by the help and the power of the Holy Spirit.

I decided to write this blog on “Prayer” because I realized that I was not the only one who found praying difficult, but many Christians today, struggle silently in this predicament and eventually fall out in building a relationship with GOD.

Why is prayer important?                                                            
Prayer is the key to GOD’s heart. Prayer is the practice of invocating the presence of GOD and to draw GOD close to you, enabling you to build a relationship on the foundation of faith, truth, love and sincerity. A believer should be so captivated in developing a relationship in order to tighten the bonds of intimacy with GOD.

In the books of Psalms 42:2 “My soul thirst for GOD, the living God.”  The longing for the living GOD, belongs to all men. For all men on earth, Christian and none Christian experience a void within the recess of their soul that seeks a sense of belonging with the divine but stumbles in the darkness and loses his way.

As Christians, prayer is an indispensable part of our everyday lives. The core purpose to begin a prayer life should stem from the intense love we have for GOD, the longing to soak in HIS company to feel HIS presence intensifying our very being. That is the first step to reach the heart of GOD.

The key to having a close intimate relationship is having genuine faith in God. The bible speaks about disciples with genuine faith who God blesses. For example Moses had faith in GOD and through HIS guidance, was able to overcome the myriad obstructions and limitations of the Pharaoh, successfully leading the Israelites in their exodus from Egypt.

Abraham who had unshakable faith in GOD was willing to sacrifice his only son Isaac, to GOD and ultimately GOD blessed him, allowing his descendants to multiply and become great nations. The Canaanite woman in Mathew, had faith in Lord Jesus and believed that HE could drive out the evil spirit from her daughter. She made her plea to the Lord and her daughter was cured.

We so often hear this word faith thrown around all the time. So what is faith?  In Hebrews 11:1 it is said, “Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen”.  It means faith is the tangible essence of what is hoped for. It’s so tangible that faith itself is the evidence of those things that are not yet visible. In other words it becomes so tangible that you now possess it.

In our contemporary minds faith is a mental recognition in knowing that someone or something exist. But true faith is deeper than that. It has the power to connect you to a spiritual dimension which links us to God and makes HIM become a tangible reality to the sense perception of a person.

As a Christian it is imperative that we understand the truth, pertaining to what true faith is, so that no matter what hardships, trials or setbacks we face in our lives, we stand grounded and rooted in faith that is unwavering knowing that with GOD we can overcome all barriers triumphantly.

This faith that we speak about, can only come from a new heart, regenerated by God. We strengthen our faith, by reading the bible, sharing the gospel, through self-discipline and control.

Faith is acquired through refinement, a process of purification of our minds through the adaptation of obedience and righteousness from the word of GOD that would transcend and enable GOD to accomplish the work of transformation in our lives.

How to pray?                                                                                           
If you are a new believer, I would say pray, prayers of praise, adoration and thanksgiving. As a born again Christian, you have so much to be thankful for. Among the millions of people in the world, “HE CHOSE YOU”! What a privilege, to be chosen by god HIMSELF. The more we praise with love and adoration, and try to discipline our minds and engage in meditating on GOD’s words, the easier it will be for the Holy Spirit to help us in our walk with GOD.

So praise HIM, thank HIM and love HIM with all our heart, soul and might. Let your prayers be as simple and honest as possible.  In John 4.23 the bible says that a true worshipers, should worship the Father in spirit and truth, as the Father seeks such worshipers.  GOD looks for those who pray with a sincere heart. As long as we have a reverent heart towards GOD and are sincere in our prayers, God would find our prayer acceptable.

However when we start praying, we often are unable to quieten our mind’s before God and are unable to use a true heart to pray. Our lips move vehemently but the heart is miles away from GOD. It often drifts to work, family and other issues except GOD. We don’t intentionally do it but due to lack of mental discipline, our mind shifts focus. These prayers are classified as empty prayers.

Don’t get discouraged when you get distracted. Once you are aware that your mind has lost focus, bring it back to the presence of GOD. Pray daily, practice mental discipline by meditating on the scriptures. Eventually the Holy Spirit will help you to focus and you will be able to be one in spirit with GOD.

 Many times our prayer is dry and we don’t know what to say. We spew out all our problems and worries and sometimes even blindly demand things from GOD. Prayers are often overlooked by us in our daily lives.

Do not blindly say whatever that comes to mind. Your prayer must contain the word of GOD. If there is a need, be specific and focus on that need.  Repetition is not encouraged in prayers. An effective prayer is not based on the length of time but quality and manner in which the prayer is invocated. After prayer don’t just go off, but sit in silence and meditate on his glory. Feel the presence of the Holy Spirit and listen to what He tells you.

The significance of a prayer is to have fellowship with GOD by lifting our mind and heart to GOD in praise that glorifies GOD and reinforces our love and need for HIM.  Through a devout prayer life, one can earnestly seek and find the priceless treasures of God.