Why Prayer Is Important - Part 2 - Pursuing Intimacy With God
Why Prayer Is Important (And Spending Time With God)
In Part 1 we looked at several reasons why prayer is important (and spending time with God). The main reason prayer is important is because God desires our fellowship. And He wants us to have intimacy with God and to know Him in real and personal ways.
In Part 2 of this series on Why Prayer Is Important (And Spending Time With God) we will look at more reasons to daily spend time with God and seek Him.
Why Prayer Is Important (And Spending Time With God)
In our last article we talked about some of the reasons why we should pray and spend time with God. Why pray & spend time with God ? Primarily because God wants you to, and He desires close fellowship with you. You are precious and special to God, and He wants you to have intimacy with God. God also wants you to know Him in personal and real ways.
Another reason is because Jesus is our source of life… full abundant life with meaning and purpose, and also eternal life. Jesus is our source of everything… power for living, strength, righteousness & holiness, power for doing God’s work and mission, grace, mercy, love, joy, peace,…
As if those reasons are not enough, here are more reasons why we should pray and spend time with God.
Another Reason Why Prayer Is Important (And Spending Time With God)
God wants you to humble yourself. And to acknowledge that you need Him in your life. God wants you to learn to trust and depend on Him in all areas of your life.
God makes many promises in His Word for those that humble themselves and trust in Him.
“Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight.” – Proverbs 3:5-6
Daniel 10:12 – “Then he continued, “Do not be afraid, Daniel. Since the first day that you set your mind to gain understanding and to humble yourself before your God, your words were heard, and I have come in response to them.”
2 Chronicles 7:14 “if my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and I will forgive their sin and will heal their land.”
Humble Yourself Under God’s Mighty Hand
God promises that if you will truly humble yourself, and fully trust & depend on Him, He will lift you up. He will bless you with a full abundant life, and He will use you to help others know Him also.
1 Peter 5:6 “Humble yourselves, therefore, under God’s mighty hand, that he may lift you up in due time.”
Micah 6:8 “He has shown you, O mortal, what is good. And what does the LORD require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.”
“That which brings the praying soul near to God is humility of heart… Pride, self-esteem, and self-praise effectually shut the door of prayer.” – E.M. Bounds
“I discovered an astounding truth: God is attracted to weakness. He can’t resist those who humbly and honestly admit how desperately they need him. Our weakness, in fact, makes room for his power.” – Jim Cymbala “Fresh Wind/ Fresh Fire”
God reveals Himself and His will and plans and His activity to people who humble themselves under Him. And to people who fully acknowledge their complete & vital need for Him. And to people who have great reverence for God and acknowledge that Jesus is Lord and Master. And that everything belongs to Him. And God reveals Himself to people who out of love and reverence for Him fully yield and submit themselves to Him.
Why Prayer Is Important (And Spending Time With God)
Prayer is important because it is God’s desire and will for you to pray and spend time in His presence. Many Christians seek God’s will and never seem to understand that His primary desire & will for you is to have close fellowship with you. This requires effort and regular time of fellowship in God’s presence.
“pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.” – I Thessalonians 5:17-18
Pray continually means to have a lifestyle of spending time with God in prayer, in His word, and in fellowship with God.
Since God is your loving Heavenly Father, He deeply cares for you and about all the details of your life. He wants to help you to have the very best life you can. Trust Him and talk to Him about everything in your life, and turn it all over to Him.
“Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you.” – 1 Peter 5:7
Why Prayer Is Important (And Spending Time With God)
You need God. You need God’s guidance and wisdom in your life. God sees everything. God knows everything. We do not. We need God to help us to avoid the wrong paths in our life. And to know the right ones. God is The Source of wisdom, discernment, and guidance.
God is also The Source of strength, power, ability, protection, provisions, comfort… Prayer is important because you need God.
Jeremiah 10:21, 23 – “The shepherds are senseless and do not inquire of the LORD; so they do not prosper and all their flock is scattered.”
Another Reason Why Prayer Is Important (And Spending Time With God)
The Bible clearly shows us that Christians are in spiritual warfare. There is a very real and powerful spiritual enemy, Satan. Satan seeks to destroy lives and bring as many people to where he is going. To eternal separation from God, and eternal punishment and suffering.
Prayer is important because as a Christian you are in a spiritual battle against the enemy and evil forces. You will lost this battle if you try to fight in your own power and strength. Satan is more powerful than any ordinary person. But God will give you daily victory if you will walk closely with Him. And spend regular time with God in prayer and in His Word. And if you humbly depend on God and let Him fight the spiritual battles for you.
1 Peter 5:8 – “Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.”
Daniel 10:12-13 – “Do not be afraid, Daniel. Since the first day that you set your mind to gain understanding and to humble yourself before your God, your words were heard, and I have come in response to them. But the prince of the Persian kingdom resisted me twenty-one days. Then Michael, one of the chief princes, came to help me, because I was detained there with the king of Persia.”
1 John 4:4 – “You, dear children, are from God and have overcome them, because the one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world.”
Matthew 26:40-41 – “Then he returned to his disciples and found them sleeping. “Couldn’t you men keep watch with me for one hour?” he asked Peter. “Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation. The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.”
Ephesians 6:12 – “For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.” (also see verses 18-20)
Spiritual Warfare & The Battle For Souls
You need God to fight your battles for you, so that you can experience His victories in your life. And in your family. And in your ministry & service. You very much need God in your efforts to reach the lost people around you.
Sharing God’s love and the Gospel, and trying to reach others for Christ is taking an active part in the spiritual battle for souls. Far too many Christians are not obeying Jesus’ command in Matthew 4:19 to be “fishers of men” and in Matthew 28:19-20 to make disciples. The spiritual battles for the souls of other people cannot be won if we are disobediently being inactive in God’s kingdom work and mission in the world.
God loves all people ad wants them to be saved (1 Timothy 2:4). Satan hates all people, wants to destroy their lives, and then have them go to where he is going for eternity. Their is a huge spiritual battle for souls going on. God wants us to humble ourselves, pray and cry out to Him for lost people. And He wants & commands all of us to be active in telling others about Jesus and salvation.
God will fill us with the Holy Spirit to empower us to share the Gospel and reach lost people. And He give us the fruitful, victorious, and abundant lives that He promises us. If we humbly trust and obey Him.
Another Important Reason Why Prayer Is Important (And Spending Time With God)
You should pray & spend time with God because your children and your family need your prayers. And your fellow Christians need your prayers. Because they too need God. They need God’s grace and help to become the devoted and faithful disciples that God wants them to be.
And they too need God’s guidance and wisdom and discernment in order to stay on the path that God has planned for them. And that they will truly love and serve God with all their hearts.
James Dobson, founder of Focus On The Family, tells the story of how his great great grandfather prayed for years that the next 4 generations in his family would all be Godly people and love and serve the Lord throughout their lives. Late in his life God assured him that this would happen. Every male in his family in the next 4 generations became a pastor, and every female became a pastor’s wife. James Dobson went on to be the founder of Focus On The Family.
In Part 3 of our series of articles on Why Prayer Is Important (And Spending Time With God), we will look at even more important reasons to make spending time with God a daily routine.
Pursuing Intimacy With God is committed to helping you with the most important thing in your life… your intimacy with God , your fellowship with Him, and your partnership with God in His Kingdom work & mission.
There are hundreds of Bible verses and great truths & promises in the Pursuing Intimacy With God studies book
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