Prayer is Important

Why is prayer important?

Prayer is a valuable weapon against our enemy. God has ordained prayer as a weapon against the schemes of the devil. In Ephesians 6, it says this:

...and take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God, praying at all times in the Spirit, with all prayer and supplication. To that end keep alert with all perseverance, making supplication for all the saints, (Ephesians 6:17-18 ESV)


It is interesting to note that prayer is mentioned directly after the Sword of the Spirit. Scripture is our first offensive weapon against the schemes of the devil. Prayer is second.


God has commanded us to pray.

Luke 18:1 "And he told them a parable … that they ought always to pray and not lose heart."

1 Thess.5:16-17 “Rejoice always, pray without ceasing…”


God has given us the armour we need in battling the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places. We are at war against Satan, sin, and death. Scripture helps to build our armour against these things. Prayer is like the straps holding the armour in place. 


 God has promised to hear and answer our prayers.

Jeremiah 29:12 "Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will hear you."

Jeremiah 33:3 – “Call to me and I will answer you, and will tell you great and hidden things that you have not known.”

Psalm 13 – prayer strengthens our faith:

1 How long, O Lord? Will you forget me forever?

How long will you hide your face from me?

2 How long must I take counsel in my soul

and have sorrow in my heart all the day?

How long shall my enemy be exalted over me?

3 Consider and answer me, O Lord my God;

light up my eyes, lest I sleep the sleep of death,

4 lest my enemy say, “I have prevailed over him,”

lest my foes rejoice because I am shaken.

5 But I have trusted in your steadfast love;

my heart shall rejoice in your salvation.

6 I will sing to the Lord,

because he has dealt bountifully with me.

You can see from this psalm that the speaker begins with questions and doubts, sorrow and humiliation. Yet in speaking to God he reminds himself of the promises and attributes of God, and his faith is restored in verses 5 and 6.

We should remember this when our lack of faith hinders our prayers. If we would only pray, our faith would grow!

Prayer reveals where our true confidence lies.

We should pray through confusion, and recognize hindrances to prayer. What are some hindrances to prayer? 


Unbelief. Sometimes we can have doubts that God will hear or answer our prayer. Is this prayer important enough for God to hear it? Does He care? 


Turning away from Scripture. The Word and prayer go together. The more we read God's Word and understand more about Him, the more we will pray more in line with His will. When we neglect the Word of God, we are neglecting an essential part of the armour of God we have been given. 


Selfish motives. When we seek our own will in prayer, or we make demands, that can be a hindrance to prayer. Even if we are praying, our prayer is rendered ineffective if we pray against the revealed will of God. 


Fear. What if God doesn't answer my prayer? What if He does?  


Pride. This goes back to the idea that we think we are strong enough to accomplish things on our own. We have no need of God for what we determine are "little" things. 

Prayer does not always lead to the end that we wish it to.

It is not our “get out of jail free” card. God does not have to answer prayer as we think He should. Prayer does not make God our servant. Especially as we remember the prayers of the righteous men and women in Scripture, we see that their prayers were based on the fact that God is Lord, not that we are. Those who pray in Scripture always prayed in accordance with the will of God. 

Prayer is an entreaty to the God of the Universe that He would come down, save, rescue, restore, and build up. We are asking the King of kings to help us when we pray. Prayer is not a command, but a request.