You Must Pray!

It would seem obvious to most Christians that we must pray, but many of us do not spend enough time in prayer the way Jesus Christ taught the early disciples. Jesus is the Great Teacher we must follow. We have to learn to implement His teachings rather than implement the ideas of men.

What Do You Pray For?

Jesus says in Matt. 6:5, “When thou prayest…” The implication of these words is that praying is not optional. It is not an IF situation. It is a WHEN situation. We must pray, but Why?!?!

The Greek word translated as pray is the compound word proseuchomai. It comes from combining pros and euchomai. Pros means forward. Euchomai means to wish by implication to pray. So proseuchomai means to wish forward or toward. The reason why this definition is important is because it opens up our understanding to the verses that follow.

What should we wish forward or what should we wish towards? An important prerequisite question is: who do we forward our wishes to? The answer is in Matt: 6:6. Jesus says, “…pray to the Father…” Our wishes are to be put forward to the Father and only the Father. This is why Jesus starts the model prayer with, “Our Father which art in heaven…” (verse 9) We are to pray in Jesus’ name but we must pray to the Father (John 16:23-24).

Again, what should we wish forward or what should we wish towards? Matt. 6:10 gives us the answer! Please read Matt. 6:9-13. Notice that Jesus never mentions a house, transportation, a job, or any other thing associated with physical wealth. Even when Jesus mentions debt, He is not talking about money (verses 14-15 make this plain). Jesus teaches us to desire God’s kingdom and to present that desire before God the Father. Read Matt. 6:19-21, 33.

Are you praying for God’s Kingdom to come? Or are you praying for your physical needs more? God already knows what your needs are (verse 8). The world concerns themselves with their physical needs, but Christians are supposed to wish for God’s kingdom. Our desire and energy should be on God’s kingdom, not our physical needs.

The reason why prayer is towards God is because He is the only one who can institute His kingdom (Isa. 9:6-7). The pagans came up with various gods because their desires were on physical needs. They sent their prayers towards gods of prosperity, fertility, corn, fish etc. This is not what the Eternal God wants us to concern ourselves with (Matt. 6:7-8). God doesn’t want us petitioning Him with vain repetitions for material needs (James 4:3).

So again, what should Christians pray for? See Luke 11:13. Christians should be praying for God’s Spirit. If God has given you His Spirit and you are struggling with sin, then your prayers should be in the attitude of Ps. 51:7-13. Remember, it is God’s Spirit that will be used to resurrect Christians into eternal life (Rom. 8:9-11).

We must be praying for God’s Spirit. We must confess our sins and put up every effort to resist sin. We must pray that God does not take His Spirit from us. Know that God will help us in this process (Rom. 8:26-27), but we must not quench the Spirit (I Thes. 5:19). Note that the Greek word translated as quench means to extinguish. The same Greek word was translated as “gone out” in Matt. 25:8.

I Thes. 5:19 implies that we can put the Holy Spirit out of our lives by what we do. Again, we should pray in the spirit of Ps. 51:7-13. We must pray for God’s mercy and forgiveness (Matt. 6:12). We must let God the Father know that it is not our desire to put out His Spirit.

Sidenote: Please note it is not wrong to pray for your needs. Matt. 6:11 mentions the food. Unfortunately, Christians and non-Christians have be given too much thought to what they are going to eat, drink, and wear. This worrying has led to all kinds of sin to obtain these basic needs. Jesus specifically taught against this dangerous worrying (Matt. 6:25-30). Your prayers should be reserved for more important thing. God will provide for the righteous (Ps. 37:25; Ps 11:4-5). This does not mean there is nothing for you to do to secure your needs. It means you can trust God to work things out as long as you do your work in righteousness (Deut. 8:18).

The Spirit of Real Prayer

Remember, the word prayest in Matthew 6 means to wish forward or toward. It is about setting your desires before God the Father. Our primary desire should be God’s kingdom. After this primary concern, we may have other desires, but we must make sure they aren’t the cares of this world. Ps. 10:3 shows how God feels about covetousness. We must safeguard our hearts and resist having the same desires and wishes of the wicked. Verse 17 shows that God hears the desires of the humble. Verse 18 proves that this is not about physical needs. God hears the concerns of the oppressed and the fatherless if they are humble.

Read Ps. 37:3-5. Delight means to be pliable, that is to easily bend; to be easily influenced or persuaded; adjusting readily to change. We must let God mold us to His liking. God will not answer your requests to satisfy your covetousness, but if your ways are committed to Him, then you will desire that which is right and just. See Ps. 145:18-19. Notice that you must call upon God in truth!

Also read Prov. 11:23. Learn to desire only that what which is good and it will show in your prayers. You will learn not to pray for covetous reasons and to pray for things that are good in the sight of God. Lastly, when you pray, you must forgive those who have done things against you (Mark 11:22-26). This is the way God expects us to pray!!!