In a recent prayer meeting, a sister shared about an incident her son, who is studying in England, encountered.  He had spoken to his mother on the phone and just before ending the conversation, he told her that he would be going to the supermarket to buy some groceries.  This was his usual routine.  After hanging up the phone for some time, this sister for some unknown reason felt uneasy and decided to pray for her son that the Lord will grant her son safety on his way to the supermarket.  She prays regularly for her son but never just for safety in his journey to the supermarket.

Later, her son called to tell her that on his way to the supermarket, someone in a car shouted at him and pointed a gun at him.  That which added to the tension was that just a few days ago in this neighbourhood, somebody fired a gunshot at a passerby.  This sister also realized that it was at about the same time when her son faced danger that she prayed for him.  We believe that God had moved the heart of his mother at a time of danger to pray for her son.  A timely prayer kept her son safe.

God Wants You to Pray

The Bible exhorts us saying “Let us then approach God’s throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need” (Hebrews 4:16).  It is not that God is unable to save you if you do not pray.  Rather, God wants us to pray because prayer is an act of faith in Him and God honours faith: “if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move.  Nothing will be impossible for you” (Matt 17:20).

Prayer Brings Joy

Do pray to your Father who is in heaven regularly?  You do yourself a disservice by not praying because Jesus once said to his disciples: “Until now you have not asked for anything in My name. Ask and you will receive, and your joy will be complete” (John 16:24).  When you pray, you will experience the joy of answered prayer because you receive what your heart desires.  You receive the best because God always gives to His children good gifts when they ask.  That means also that when what you ask is not good for you, God will not give that to you but will replace it with something that will truly benefit you at the right time.  Hence, you must pray.

What to Pray for

Christians must give thanks to God before eating their meals.  How can you not say “thank you” to God because it is He who gives you the ability to earn a living and to enjoy food?  God delights to hear you asking good things from Him.  Ask God to provide your needs: Pray for your health, job, financial needs, children, loved ones, etc.

But your prayer life must not be a self-centred one.  We are a family with God as our Father.  How can you then not love your spiritual siblings?  You should also pray for others.  Above all, you must pray for God’s work.  If you love God and are grateful to your Lord Jesus for dying to save you into eternal life, then you must be concerned for God’s business and His church.  Pray for the church pastor that he may be spiritually vibrant to shepherd Jesus’ flock.  Pray for the church’s spiritual activities that souls may be saved and his children grow spiritually.  Your Lord loves His church for whom He died.  Hence you must pray for the church’s spiritual well-being.  Pray for lost souls because the angels in heaven and your Lord rejoice with exceeding joy when a soul is saved.  “Pray continually” (1 Thessalonians 5:17).