Written by Enoch Antwi

Prayer is instant access to God. This is hard to fathom because we do not have consistent, infallible, instant access to anyone else on the planet.

As helpful as our smartphones are, we still have to deal with glitches when Wi-Fi fails, cell phone signals drop out, or the phone stops working for no apparent reason. But while man-made gadgets can and do fail, prayer never fails.

No matter where we are or what we’re doing, we always have immediate and unfailing communication with God.

What Is Prayer?

Prayer is communication with God, either in thought or in spoken or written words. Just as our relationships with friends and family grow and deepen as we spend time together, time interacting with God deepens our relationship with Him.

Prayer gives us direct access to God’s listening ear, as well as His love, strength, wisdom, and comfort. It’s a way to express our love, confess our sins, and bring our requests to Him.

Prayer also is a time for hearing from God. As we pray, the Holy Spirit guides us in decisions, comforts our sorrows, and lavishes His love on us.

God already loves and accepts us unconditionally, so we never have to fear reaching out to Him in prayer.

If God Already Knows Everything, Why Do I Need To Pray?

Prayer is key to the depth and health of our relationship with God.

In Luke 11:1, Jesus’ followers said, “Lord, teach us to pray…” Jesus responded with a model for them (and us) to follow. That model shows not only the basics of praying but also the necessity of praying.

Jesus wants us to pray because He wants us to know God intimately. He commanded and modelled prayer repeatedly as He traveled and taught His followers how to know and communicate with God. Just like the people who followed Jesus while He was living on earth, we can learn from His reliance on prayer. Jesus’ followers saw how He needed time alone to talk with God, to rest, to receive direction from God, to find peace after conflict, and to be loved as only God can love us.

In Matthew 7:7, Jesus shared a simple way to remember the basics of prayer: ask, seek, and knock. “Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you.”

Yes, God already knows everything about us, including our needs. But prayer lets us participate in God’s blessings and provision for us. As we ask for God’s help, seek His guidance, and knock on the doors He provides, God’s responses draw us closer and involve us in His powerful work.

God created us and loves us with infinite love, and prayer is His gift of an all-access, never-closed gateway to His heart.

What If I Do It Wrong or Don't Know What to Say?

When we are new to praying, we are like toddlers learning to walk. Learning to walk takes many tries, and kids walk stronger and more easily over time. The same is true for us as we learn to embrace the gift of prayer.

Jesus said no request is too small or too big to bring to God, so we can ask anything (Luke 17:6). Jesus also said we can trust God’s loving character as our generous provider and protector (Luke 11:13), which means we can be at ease and bring joyful anticipation with our requests to Him.

God wants to hear from and bless us, so much so that He even helps us as we pray: “We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us…” (Romans 8:26).

Prayer is a magnificent gift from our loving Father and an instant way into His presence, love, and help. So don’t fear it. Instead, joyfully embrace it.

Written by John Scott

I’ve been praying a specific prayer for several years now. Years. But the answer still remains “no” — or at least, “not yet.”

What do you do when you’re confident the Holy Spirit has confirmed something in your life, but the time has not yet come? What do you do when you know what God has told you, but His timing is different than yours?

And, even more, what do you do when you see someone else receiving the answer to the very prayer you’ve been praying?

Can I be honest?

Sometimes you cry and pitch a holy hissy fit. Sometimes you question God and beg to know what He’s thinking. Sometimes you remind Him of what He said to you in the past, and sometimes you feel completely lost.

• What to Do When God Isn’t Speaking
• Three Ways God Speaks to Us

I’m finding that trusting God is the hardest part of my faith journey. I believe in God — I do. I believe He is good, I believe He hears me, and I believe He has a plan. But trust? I think trust is hard.

Here’s why: I can believe He is good, but I can struggle to trust He’s being good to me in what He allows, answers, or denies. I can believe He hears me, but I can struggle to trust that His hearing my prayers will ever lead to Him answering. I can believe He has a plan, but in the waiting for the plan to materialize, I can struggle to trust that He hasn’t forgotten me.

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And my trust is always tested when I see someone else getting what I’ve asked for from Him.

That specific prayer I’ve been praying for years? God answered it — but for someone else. That thing I believe He’s confirmed for my life? It’s now a reality for someone else.

That’s tough.

It’s not that I don’t think this person deserves it, and it’s not that I just want it all for myself. It’s that I know God could answer it for more than one person, but so far, He’s chosen not to answer it for me.

When you have to face the reality that God can but He won’t, you also have to face the reality that trusting Him is a choice when the easier option is to assume He doesn’t care. The enemy wants you to think God has rejected you and is withholding his best. He wants you to be jealous and bitter and to see God as stingy. He will continue to tempt you with the thought that you must not be good enough.

But that is not true.

Article supplied with thanks to Jennie Scott. About the Author: Jennie is married with two children who shares lessons from her own unexpected journeys and encouragement you might need for yours.