Understanding the Necessity of Prayer

Thursday / Devoted to Prayer
Read: Colossians 4:2-6; 1 John 5:14-15 SOAP: Colossians 4:2

Be devoted to prayer, keeping alert in it with thanksgiving.

Colossians 4:2

Attitude matters. It matters in our relationships and conversations. It matters in classrooms, in the home, in the office, in the neighborhood, at church, in difficult situations. Honestly, attitude matters in just about any scenario we can name, even (or perhaps especially) prayer. Why? Because our attitude spills forth in our words and actions. From smiles to frowns to tears and scowls…from kind words/actions to hateful ones; our attitudes feed our behavior.

A settled way of thinking or feeling about someone, something, or an idea, which is typically shown through a person’s behavior. ¹

When it comes to prayer, Paul teaches that our attitude is to be one of devotion, alertness, thankfulness, and of course, faith. We are to be committed to praying. We are to be watchful, making sure we pray purposefully and not offering up empty prayers. This requires effort and intentionality from us to know who and what needs to be covered in prayer. This helps us to pray with purpose and to align our prayers with God’s expressed will and/or character. We may not always know what God wants in a situation, but we know that He is the great physician, so we can pray for healing. We know that He came to save sinners, so we can pray for the lost. We know He can do more than we ask or even imagine, so we can pray for the seemingly impossible. We know that He wants us to know peace and to have rest – so we can and should call out to Him for both.

To be clear, for a believer in Jesus Christ ~ prayer is communication with God based on the promise² that He hears and answers us according to His will. It is a privilege to come boldly before His throne…it is calling out to Him in fear…pain…desperation…It is lifting up praises and thanksgiving for things He has done…It is a relationship builder and strengthening agent of our faith.

Friends, Paul makes it clear throughout this letter and others that we need to exercise our faith, and one way we do that is through prayer. That’s right, prayer strengthens our faith in God. Go back and read Paul’s prayer for the believers in chapter one of Colossians.

So how is your attitude toward/in prayer?

• Do you see it as simply a duty or a privilege and joy?
  • Is it a hurry and get it done attitude or cherished time with God?
• Do you pray in faith, or does doubt creep in?
• Do you come to Him as a Father/Friend or as an unseen deity?
• Do you come with your heart and mind on Him or with the distractions of the world?
• Do you pray with an attitude of thanksgiving that flows from trusting God?

We exercise our faith by going to God and asking Him for everything we need, especially spiritual fruit, trusting Him to provide and thanking Him for it.

Christ Is All I Need / LGG digital Journal / p 190

As John wrote in 1 John 5:14, when we pray, we can have confidence that, when we pray according to His will, God hears us. In other words, our confidence doesn’t come from praying but from the One we pray to… and praying in accordance with His will ~ ie., the things we know He wants (salvation for the lost³, obedience⁴, unity⁵, love⁶, peace⁷, understanding His Word and will⁸, wisdom⁹, His help¹⁰…)

And this is the confidence that we have before him: that whenever we ask anything according to his will, he hears us. 15 And if we know that he hears us in regard to whatever we ask, then we know that we have the requests that we have asked from him. ~ 1 John 5:14-15

Whether you pray in a quiet room or a noisy office, in your car on the way to work or as you wait in line at the grocery store – pray. Prayer is not relegated to a closet (though those moments are priceless) it is an ongoing, open line of communication with the Creator of the universe. Remember, while Jesus got alone with God in the garden, He also called out to God from the cross. The One who spoke the worlds in to place has invited us to come, not just with certain things but with all of our cares (1 Peter 5:7). And He doesn’t invite us out of obligation but because He loves and cares for us. I have found that the more we devote ourselves to prayer the more we find ourselves devoted to God – and vice versa. From this devotion comes a growing confidence in and understanding of God as well as an unshakable faith – that allows us to say with the Psalmist, I keep my eyes always on the Lord; because He is at my right hand, I will not be shaken.

“I keep my eyes always on the Lord; because he is at my right hand, I will not be shaken.” (Ps 16:8)

Prayer demands ongoing attention, just like the guard at a city gate. In practical terms, this means prayer is not supposed to be a careless, casual, or frivolous act. We should pray with specific purpose and with deliberate intent.

Bibleref.com / Colossians 4:2

Paul is nearing the end of his letter and is impressing on the people that they will need to be people of prayer. He knows they will need courage and help in the call to be witnesses and that they still have much to learn about living the Christian life. They will face trials and carry burdens and they will need God’s help. Paul understands that their source of help, strength, and wisdom is God and that they only need to ask. So he urges them to not just pray but to devote themselves to the habit and practice of prayer. Like breathing, it is to be a way of life for every believer. They will need to make time for prayer, and friends, we need to do the same ~ which is why we must understand the necessity of prayer. As we called out to God for our salvation we must continually call out to Him for our daily needs to the forgiveness of sins, to the help we need to escape the temptations to sin. He is our strength and our fortress, a very present help in times of trouble – all we need to do is call to Him and He will hear and answer us.

The More We Know

1. Merriam-Webster and other online sources ↩︎
2. 1 John 5:14-15 ↩︎
3. 1 Timothy 2:3-4. ↩︎
4. John 14:15 ↩︎
5. John 17:23, Ephesians 4:3 ↩︎
6. Mark 12:29-31; John 13:34 ↩︎
7. John 16:33 ↩︎
8. Eph 5:17 ↩︎
9. Prov 4:7, James 1:5 ↩︎
10. Psalm 121:1-2 ↩︎