Prayer is a very important privilege and duty that many Christians take for granted. Prayer is mentioned in some form or fashion over 500 times in scripture. For the Christian, prayer is; obedience to God, an aid to spiritual growth, and a form of worship to God. It is important that our prayer be biblically based. Some denominations emphasize prayer, however, it is not scripturally based, ie., using medieval mystical terminology, counting beads, using crucifixes, praying to dead “saints” etc... We need approach God in the way He has commanded, not in ways devised by men.

    First, there are some fundamental assumptions we must hold. There is a loving God whom man needs (Amos 4:13, Psa. 121). God hears and answers our prayers (Zech 13:9, 1 John 5:14, John 14:13). God loves us (John 3:16, Rom. 5:6-8). These assumptions are necessary because if any one of them were not true, prayer would be a ridiculous concept. Any who do not hold these beliefs firmly cannot come to God in acceptable prayer. The skeptics approach to prayer, “Oh God if there be a God...”, is an exercise in futility. Those who come to God in prayer must do so from a position of faith.

  Secondly, a spirit of reverence to God is necessary for effective prayer life. Again, in Jesus' model prayer He begins by saying “hallowed be thy name”. One should never have a casual, careless or flippant attitude in prayer. Our reverence can be reflected in our posture and our language. Bent knees and bowed heads are never out of order (Ezra 9:5, Ex. 34:8-9). Our reverence is often reflected in humility. Contrast the prayers of the Pharisee and the publican (Luke 18:10-14). What's the difference? Humility.Prayer is a powerful asset available to every Christian. We must, however, be sure that we avail ourselves of this asset in a scriptural manner. God loves us and wants us to approach him in prayer. Let us approach him in spirit of obedience and reverence. In so doing, we can have confidence that He hears us.