Have you ever asked yourself, “is prayer important?” For any follower of Christ, you would say yes, right?!
But do we know the REAL reasons why prayer is so important and so VITAL to us as believers?
The importance of prayer in our lives is a crucial element to growing stronger in your faith and being obedient to God.
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Why is Prayer is Important
Prayer is such a vital part of our lives if we know Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord. It is our way that we can speak to God, come before Him with boldness, and listen to Him speak as well!
We may not always PHYSICALLY hear Him speaking to us, but He uses prayer as a way to communicate with us and open that channel between us and Him.
There are different types of prayer, and even ways to pray. We can pray out loud, prayers can be thoughts, reading scripture as prayer, and singing prayers to Him through praise songs.
Prayer isn’t just a one-way type of thing, as in it’s just something we do and don’t expect anything to happen. When we pray, we are praying WITH expectation that God will move His mighty hand!
It is definitely important to remember that we are BELIEVERS, meaning we don’t pray just to say words. We pray because we believe there is an almighty God who HEARS us and that Jesus intercedes on our behalf.
It’s also important to pray because Jesus did! Let’s look more into that…
The Importance of Prayer in the Bible
It can be easy to sit here and say, yes it’s important to pray and you should do it, but that would just be me telling you to do so. Why listen to me, right??
In fact, anything that we study or learn about God, we must bring it back to scripture and make sure it aligns with what He tells us.
So I definitely believe it’s super important to look at what the Bible says about prayer – how to pray, when to pray, and even how NOT to pray!
Praying loud enough for others to hear and trying to make it sound good or “showy” – this is not true prayer and may as well be considered white noise. That’s what the Pharisees did, and we know that’s not how we want to be!
But rather, we want to be like Jesus! Prayer is important because JESUS did it, and we are called to be imitators of Him.
“Very early in the morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house and went off to a solitary place, where he prayed.” Mark 1:35 NIV
If Jesus did it, then so should we! And he evens shows us how to pray in Matthew 6, a great model to practice ourselves and teach our children too.
Let’s look at some more examples of just how powerful prayer was in the Bible…
Scriptures on the Importance of Prayer
There are SO many references to the importance of prayer in Scripture.
Here are some more specific scriptures you can look up about how important prayer is, including why and how we pray, straight from the Bible.
Feel free to bookmark this page to refer to when you are struggling with prayer and need some encouragement!
“This, then, is how you should pray: “‘Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us today our daily bread. And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.’ For if you forgive other people when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. Matthew 6:9-14 NIV
Very early in the morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house and went off to a solitary place, where he prayed. Mark 1:35
And here are a few more prayer scriptures to meditate on:
- 1 John 5:14-16
- 1 Chronicles 16:11
- Philippians 4:6
- Colossians 4:2
- 1 Thessalonians 5:17
- Ephesians 6:18
- Luke 18
- James 5:13
- Romans 12:12
I would encourage you to take one or two of these scriptures to read each day, let them fill you and remind you just how important it is to keep a healthy prayer life, and in communication with God!
Are you looking for some tools and tips to boost your prayer life? If so, be sure to visit our Prayer Resources Library where you’ll find everything you need to become a powerful prayer warrior!
The Importance of Prayer
Now that we have seen some powerful examples of prayer in the Bible, and even Jesus himself praying, we can truly get a sense of how important it is to our Christian life.
Prayer can also look different at different times in life and circumstances! It’s not a one size fits all type of thing, where you need to have all quiet and no distractions.
For example, there were times when my daughter was a baby that I would pray over her in whispers as I was rocking her to sleep.
Sometimes I would pray with my thoughts as I was looking at her playing or doing something, and sometimes out loud with her which would open up great opportunities for teaching her how to pray.
However, there are times when we need to get away and be completely alone with God, just like we talked about Jesus doing. But God always wants to hear our prayers, no matter what circumstance we are in or who is around!
Here are even more reasons why prayer is so important…(be sure to share this importance of prayer quotes to encourage others in their prayer life!)
Prayer is Important Because it Holds Power
First and foremost, pray is important because it holds such power.
Christians, we must believe in the power of prayer and what it can do! God still performs miracles to this day!!
We have seen the sick healed, the lost found, and so many other miraculous things! God has not changed, and neither has the power of prayer.
Prayer is Important Because it is How God Communicates With Us
Prayer opens the door between us and God.
A daily prayer of gratitude is how we can come before Him, thank Him, praise Him, ask of Him, and one way that He chooses to answer His people.
When we are in communication with God, we know what He wants us to do and how to live out our daily lives.
Constant communication with him through prayer and listening helps us be less confused, worried, and, fearful.
Prayer is Important Because it is an Act of Obedience
Not only is prayer important because of its power and how we communicate with God, but it’s also an act of obedience for believers.
Just like we already talked about, Jesus prayed to stay in communication with the Father. In fact, the Bible tells us Jesus did NOTHING apart from what The Father told him to do. How did he find out what to do?
Prayer!!
We are called to obey Him and His command for us to be more like Jesus every single day. It’s an act of obedience and shows that we love Him and trust Him!
It’s not a chore to do or something on a list to make sure we check off every day. It’s real communication with Him because we went to be obedient followers of Christ!
Prayer is Important Because it Protects Your Mind
Prayer is so important because it protects our minds from evil thoughts.
When we are praying and meditating on scripture, any thought that comes into our brain that isn’t from God or in HIS mind about us, are not thoughts we want in there.
Satan doesn’t always tempt us with this huge, big, GREAT sin that we would obviously say no to. Rather, he looks for small little compromises to put in front of us.
This movie isn’t THAT bad. This song only has a few cruse words. A little gossip is okay, this one time.
See how easily it can creep up?? We must be on guard and pray that God protects our minds, and not give Satan a foothold.
Prayer is Important Because it Opens Your Eyes
This kind of goes back to our first point on the power of prayer, because prayer is the only thing that can truly open our eyes.
When we pray and ask God to reveal things to us, He reveals those things according to His will and His purposes. Prayer is the avenue that allows this to happen!
It also goes the same way when praying for unbelievers – we can’t save anybody ourselves.
But, we can pray for God to open their eyes and let the truth be revealed to them! Whether that is through us planting the seed, watering it, or seeing them finally come to salvation, we pray regardless because it’s powerful.
There are so many biblical reasons WHY prayer is important, what the Bible says about it, and even tons of prayer scriptures to encourage you in doing it.
I hope this helps you understand just how important prayer is, and that you will fuel that desire to pray continually without ceasing. Be encouraged and pray continually!
Be sure to download and share our free importance of prayer quotes with others!
Mindy blogs over at Mindy Jones Blog where she writes about Christian motherhood, encouraging moms to raise godly kids with practical tips, resources, and authenticity.
