God uses our prayers to accomplish His will Through prayer, God allows us to be involved in His work that will go on forever. When we pray, we participate in God's will being accomplished “on earth as it is in heaven.” (Matt 6:9-10).
The English term prayer is from Medieval Latin: precaria, lit. 'petition, prayer'. The Vulgate Latin is oratio, which translates Greek προσευχή in turn the Septuagint translation of Biblical Hebrew תְּפִלָּה tĕphillah.
People pray for different reasons including to thank God, to ask for help, to ask for forgiveness or to ask for help to make something important happen in their lives. Christians pray in different ways. They might light candles, kneel, open their hands, burn incense or pray through music, silence and meditation.
Prayer is powerful because God commands us to do it, and it is a way of daily communicating with Him. The resources below will help you cultivate a consistent prayer life and a heart for prayer in accordance with His word.
prayer, an act of communication by humans with the sacred or holy—God, the gods, the transcendent realm, or supernatural powers. Found in all religions in all times, prayer may be a corporate or personal act utilizing various forms and techniques.
1 Thessalonians 5:16-18
Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus.
Any time you want or need to talk with God, that's when you should pray. Any place you need to feel the influence of His love, that's where you should pray. You don't have to wait for the perfect time or place (or the perfect you). Just pray.
Jesus said that prayer should be a private time between God and the worshipper. Jesus does not mean that it is wrong to pray with others, but the prayers should be sincere and for the right motives.
God's Word Calls Us to Pray
Several passages are relevant: “Pray for those who persecute you” -Matthew 5:44 (NIV) [1] “And when you pray …” -Matthew 6:5. “This, then, is how you should pray …” -Matthew 6:9.
One does not need to believe in God for prayer to work. Despite being an atheist, Sam Harris has unapologetically spent time meditating with and learning from Hindus and Buddhists. This makes sense because you do not need to subscribe to any particular religion or believe in any God to meditate.
God uses our prayers to accomplish His will
Through prayer, God allows us to be involved in His work that will go on forever. When we pray, we participate in God's will being accomplished “on earth as it is in heaven.” (Matt 6:9-10).
The most famous example—for good reason—is the Lord's Prayer (Matt 6:5–15, Luke 11:1–4), in which Jesus teaches his disciples to pray.
a devout petition to God or an object of worship. a spiritual communion with God or an object of worship, as in supplication, thanksgiving, adoration, or confession.
Silence and solitude are essential aspects of contemplative prayer, a practice of prayer that waits on God and trusts in God's present love and grace. While silence can be especially helpful in becoming attentive to God while praying, it is hardly an excuse to remain aloof from the needs of our neighbors.
Prayer is simply talking to God -- and the most important thing I can say about this is that God wants you to talk to Him!
Prayer in the New Testament is presented as a positive command (Colossians 4:2; 1 Thessalonians 5:17). The people of God are challenged to include prayer in their everyday life, even in the busy struggles of marriage (1 Corinthians 7:5) as it is thought to bring the faithful closer to God.
Just like your parents here on earth, your Heavenly Father wants to hear from you and talk to you. When you pray, He listens. Then He answers your prayers in the form of thoughts, spiritual feelings, scripture, or even the actions of other people.
Jesus' instruction to pray specifically for our needs helps us to spell out and spill out what we really want to ask. When Jesus taught his followers to pray, he could have said to pray, “bless us” or “help us.” But he didn't. He said, “Give us this day our daily bread.” He urged his followers to be specific in prayer.
The simple answer is yes, God hears your prayers. An ever-present, all-knowing God will hear every word from your mouth, thought in your mind and whisper of your heart. But there are some things that might affect whether He answers.
On a daily basis, church bells are rung in major Christian denominations at the canonical hours prayed at fixed prayer times, as well as at the start of a church service. In the early Church, different methods were used to call the worshippers: playing trumpets, hitting wooden planks, shouting, or using a courier.