Praying Together For Cornwall

In preparation for September's Youth Day of Prayer, Jake - a member of the youth group at Grace Community Church - considers what prayer is ....

Many Christian people have tried to characterise prayer down through the ages. It has been said , or implied, of prayer that it is; ‘communication with God’, ‘something we do when we need something’, ‘a Christian tradition’, ‘bless Mom, bless Dad, bless the whole world’. But the fact of the matter is that there are many aspects to prayer. Sadly, however, many of us never begin to grasp the true depth and magnitude of this gift God gave us.

First and foremost, prayer is a God given command, pure and simple. Ephesians 6:8- "And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests.. always keep praying for all the saints." Our primary reason for praying should be the fact that it is an order just the same as the Ten Commandments are orders. Not because it can bring revival, healing or an outpouring of the Holy Spirit, which are all good reasons for praying, but because God has told us to. But remember, God hasn’t made praying a command because he wants to give us more regulations and restrictions, it is a command because God knows that it is vital to our walk with him.

One of the amazing things about the Christian faith is the fact that God does more than redeem us, he offers us a personal relationship with him. In Deuteronomy chapter 7 verse 4 it says: "What other nation is so great as to have their God near them the way our Lord is near to us when we pray?" So, we can see from this passage that prayer draws us near to God in a unique way, a personal way. Of course that is not the only way that we draw close to God, but it is clear from scripture that prayer tightens that relationship we received on the hour of our conversion. And as we get closer to God we come to a place where we can hear from him and learn from him. So, prayer is more than a command, it is a command with a promise of undeserved intimacy with the maker of everything.

The most exciting aspect of prayer is probably the supernatural side of it. After all we are all humans who like to believe in something we can feel or see. Mark 9:29 says in reference to demons: "This kind can come out only by prayer." Through this portion of scripture we see that God has given, through prayer, power above and beyond the powers of the evil one. 2 Chronicles 7 verse 14 says: "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 will I hear from heaven and will heal their land". Here we see that prayer can do more than cast out demons or heal somebody. It can actually change an entire nation. It could change even this nation, which has travelled so far down the path away from God. But we also see very plainly from this scripture that God has laid the responsibility on his people; that means you and me. Prayer takes direct involvement by those who have been called by his name.

What greater gift could God have given to aid us in fulfilling the great commission? Prayer is not a ‘good night, sleep tight, bless me Lord’ minute of talking to God. Prayer is a powerful command which changes lives, homes, communities, and even nations. But also, prayer carries huge blessings for those who choose to pick up this mighty weapon for war which God almighty has commanded us to use.