“The discipline of prayer is the foundation of all spiritual disciplines. It is a central component in worship, the atmosphere surrounding effective Bible study, and the power behind witnessing. Delving into the depths of prayer life is essential to growth in discipleship” [New International Version Disciple’s Study Bible (Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers, 1988), p. 1761].

I believe prayer is the central element of the Christian life. Bible reading without prayer is just a book study. A “personal relationship with Jesus” without prayer is as dysfunctional as a marriage where the two partners never interact with each other.

Over the next few months, I look forward to exploring prayer on this site. I hope that our prayer lives—both yours and mine—grow as we look at some of the things God’s word says about prayer.

Before we begin, we can ask ourselves, “What is prayer?” Perhaps the first definition that pops into most people’s minds is, “Talking to God.” That is important, but it is more than that.

However, “more than that” should not discourage you. Many young Christians are afraid to pray in a group setting because they think, “I don’t know how to pray.” They might hear the flowery words, theological terminology, and obscure biblical imagery that permeate the prayers of some pastors or other church leaders, and they think, “I can’t do that. I don’t know what those words mean. God won’t hear my prayers if I don’t know what ‘cherubim’ are.”

Many years ago, I saw a video in which Christian rock singer Mylon LeFevre defined it as “hanging out with Jesus.” This definition is a great place to start. We do not need to become Bible scholars to be prayer warriors. Instead, we probably need to simplify our expectations and take it from there. In prayer, I bring who I am to the Lord. You bring who you are to Him. We are individuals, with unique personalities and backgrounds. God made us different from each other and often works in diverse ways in each of our lives.

A few other definitions of prayer come from the Catechism in the Book of Common Prayer:

“Prayer is responding to God, by thought and by deeds, with or without words.”

“Christian prayer is response to God the Father, through Jesus Christ, in the power of the Holy Spirit.”

In the coming months, we will explore different aspects of prayer: the elements of prayer (what kind of things we talk about when speaking to God), patterns for prayer (some people need a structured approach—I will share a few of them), and hindrances to answered prayer (“I asked God to do this, but it did not happen”), among other things as the Holy Spirit may lead.

Next article in this series

Lord, teach us to pray. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

Share your thoughts about prayer and its importance in the comments field below.

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