Why should a christian pray
I just want to say thank you for the wonderful welcome to steemit. This is a very kind and supportive community. I do still want to be involved on youtube as well to increase exposure and introduce other people to the fantastic world of Steem. My blog will be posted a bit staggered since I work 84 hours a week then a week off.
Now to get to the topic at hand. Why should a christian pray? It does sound like a simple question with a simple answer. Talking to God. The bible states that we should pray and is mentioned in various books from the old testament to the new including from the king of kings, Jesus. Praying is one of the most important tools given to christians and for multiple reasons and outcomes. Prayer is used for worship, praise, repentance, thanksgiving, protection, and of course asking God for certain things. I want to focus what I feel is one of the most important reasons.
I want to give an analogy before I spill the beans as to what I am speaking about. This analogy is not intended to offend anyone and is only for understanding purposes. Let’s say that I am having problems with my marriage. I have been a terrible husband. I play video games all day, a little lazy when it comes to work and spend all the grocery money on BINGO, lol. I am by no means suggesting this analogy is about anyone reading this but want to get a point across.
My wife being the understanding and loving woman she is wants to save our marriage. The decision has been made to venture to a marriage counselor, uh-oh. As I sit in the office with a bit of stress and sweat the counselor is a friendly person and helps me to relax. I want my marriage to work and feel open and honest is the only way to answer these questions. As the babbling brook music in the background plays the questions begin.
The counselor Fred decides he wants everything in the open and wants to help us in anyway he can. He wants to see where our relationship is and where we can improve. Fred first asks the very important question. How much time do you spend together? We both answered with the same outcome. Most of our time together was on one day a week spanning 1-2 hours for that day. Fred wrote a few things down and followed by answering a second question. Communication is key in a relationship. Do you communicate with each other about your day, how much you love each other and when you face problems? Again sadly we both had the same answer. We communicate once a day for a few minutes before we go to bed every night. Fred whips out his trusty pen and decides to write a few things down. Fred states the hour is up and wants to see us again tomorrow. He concludes that many loving relationships tend to fall to this level but can easily be revived to a point of loving strength with ease. His reassurance gave me hope as I left the office.
As you can see I am focusing on time and communication as strong benefits to a loving relationship. Prayer is one means to accomplish both with God. This analogy defines my relationship with God in the past and today I would say, it is a little better. I would still need to visit Fred in my opinion on a need to see basis.
Once a person is saved by coming to Christ the second step is to begin that love affair with God. Time can be accomplished in a multitude of other ways such as reading his word, meditating, singing, fasting, sharing his word, and many others. Communication on the other hand, Prayer wins first place. I look at prayer as an instant message system that has the ability to also share your feelings.
Guess what. God wants it all. He want’s to hear about you and have that closeness that cannot be described by words. He wants your praise, your love, how your day is going, your sorrow, your pain, and how he can help you. Prayer is the most underestimated tool that Christians have and can be utilized at any time and anywhere by ANYONE.
Just a quick note about the analogy that I want to mention before I complete this Blog. Prayer is special and not just uttering words from your mouth.k Believe in your prayer, deep in your heart. Believe that God is listening, connecting your words with what you feel in your soul. If you had a 30 second deep connected loving prayer with God, it is by far better than days of prayer with no heart in it. You can be close to God with little time but I think he would like closeness with lots of time. I fall into the trap of a short single prayer once a day on occasion but I try to change my ways.
If I could give anyone advice, although I feel I am not the qualified person to do so, I would say this. Do not finish your day before you go to bed to Pray to God, start your day with prayer instead or to be optimal BOTH!. Bring God close to you for the day instead of just saying goodnight to him. Your day will go much better if you involve God from the very start of your day. I say good morning to my wife when I awake, why not treat God the same way? It’s good for your relationship.
Thank you for spending the time to read this blog or listen to my video. I will try to be consistent with new material even with my crazy job schedule. God Bless!