What Is Prayer?

Christian Prayer is a two-way conversation consisting of conveying our thoughts with our heavenly Father. It is the primary way for the believer in Jesus Christ to communicate their feelings and desires and to fellowship with God.

The first question that may be asked is, “How can anyone be able to communicate with God?”

The answer to that question is as follows:

1. If we believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, we all become children of God.

2. When we believe in Christ, we receive the spirit of God.

3. When we receive the spirit of God, the spirit of God comes to dwell, or live, within us.

4. That same spirit that lives within us witnesses to our spirit that we are children of God.

5. Because we are children of God, we can pray knowing God is our Father, and he will answer our prayers.

6. The Bible tells us we have a relationship with God the Father because we believed in His son Jesus Christ.

“For ye are all the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus.” (Galatians 3:26 KJV) Because God is our Father, he will answer our prayers and give to us everything we need to succeed in this life on earth.“He Who did not spare His own Son, but gave Him up for us all—how will He not also, along with Him, graciously give us all things?” (Romans 8:32 NIV)

It can be seen from the scriptures above that prayer is built on a relationship we have with our heavenly Father. Therefore, it can be said that “Our prayer life is a reflection of our relationship with God.” 

How do you build a relationship with anyone? You spend time with them, getting to know them and understanding what they like and dislike, what makes them happy or sad. Building a relationship takes time and energy, and commitment. Thus, building a relationship with God is at the heart of what prayer is all about.

We build a relationship by praising God, thanking Him, and telling Him how much we love Him. We can enjoy His presence and tell Him what is going on in our lives. We can make requests, seek guidance and ask for wisdom. This is all our privilege as children of God. However, as we build our relationship and get to know our heavenly Father better, we begin to trust Him. We must realize that God knows what is best for us in any situation. We begin to understand what He feels is important, and we begin to pray for His will. We begin to align ourselves with the will of God more fully. The following scripture in 1 John illustrates that point more fully:

“And this is the confidence that we have toward him, that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us. And if we know that he hears us in whatever we ask, we know that we have the requests that we have asked of him. (1 John 5:14-15 ESV)

We see from the above scripture that we have answers to prayer when we pray according to God’s will. Many people believe that prayer is introspection or, more simply put, self-analysis or soul-searching. But the essence of prayer is speaking directly to God, who hears and understands our every need. It is the interaction of our human soul with the God who created the soul. God desperately wants to interact with us. The way he does that in the New Testament is

primarily through prayer. The great Apostle Paul understood this concept. He wrote the following to the church at Philippi:

6  do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.  7  And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. (Philippians 4:6-7 ESV)

Paul instructs them to bring everything to God in prayer. The assurance from God when we do that is a peace that transcends all understanding. This peace will keep us from stress and anxiety because we are assured that God hears us and will answer our prayers.

In conclusion, it can be stated that prayer is:

• Engaging in a two-way conversation with God.

• Building a relationship and having fellowship with God.

• Finding out the will of the Father and praying His will.

• Communicating our feelings and desires with God.