10 Reasons Why You Should Always Pray as a Believer

In our Christian journey as believers, we will realise that praying is not an act we take to chance. It is very pivotal to always pray as a believer. There are about 10 reasons why we should always pray as a believer because prayer is not an obligation, prayer is a devotion.

Prayer is not an act we do because we want to fulfil all righteousness or do the work of the Father. Praying is a commitment, not a hobby we do when we feel like it. This is why as believers we need to make our prayer life effective.

Let us look into the prayer life of Jesus. At every point in his life, Jesus prayed. Before he made any decision Jesus prayed. Jesus Christ never took prayer to chance. He seized every opportunity to pray. Imagine, looking at prayer from the perspective of Jesus Christ; prayer would present itself as a culture and not a requirement.

In Luke 10:38-40, we can see how Jesus Christ made prayer a necessity by commending Mary for praying and telling Martha to never forsake the place of prayer no matter the event.

In Luke 6:12, Jesus Christ went up to the mountain to pray and He stayed all night praying, imagine that level of commitment to a cause.

“And it came to pass in those days, that He went out into a mountain to pray, and continued all night in prayer to God.”

Following the verse, we can see that Jesus was to make a crucial decision after the night he prayed. This was the height of Jesus’ commitment.

Even as little as praying to have direction on something; He took it with utmost importance. Some of us can only have a serious prayer when we are praying about a crucial matter. Jesus’ praying lifestyle is what we ought to adopt.

One fascinating character is Daniel; he chose prayer over death. Daniel rather saw himself dying than not seeing himself praying. There was a decree made by King Darius that anyone caught praying within thirty days would be thrown into the lion’s den. The intriguing part of this all is that Daniel read this decree and he still went on to pray as seen in Daniel 6:10.

We are not even living in the times of Daniel anymore because there is no law against us praying to God, there is no excuse for us to not pray. We should follow Jesus’ praying lifestyle because Jesus always prayed. He never ceased to pray in every situation.

Before His crucifixion, He prayed in Matthew 26:39. Jesus was seen at every point of His life praying and He made sure His disciples also practised prayer as a devotion like He did because when He came to His disciples and saw them sleeping Jesus was angry because He expected more from them as seen in verse 40.

We are to take prayer as a way of life, our praying lifestyle should stand out. We should never be too busy to take time to pray in the day.

What is Prayer?

Prayer is the act of effectively communicating to God by telling him our needs, expressing our gratitude towards him, asking him to help us align with his will and more.

10 Reasons Why You Should Always Pray 

There are 10 reasons why you should always pray and I will explain them below:

1. Praying Stirs Up Our Inner Man:

Praying stirs up the inner man in us and it puts it into action. We will be surprised by the changes that take place inside of us during prayer. In my local church, we always make this statement ‘I take from within and put it on top.’

This indicates that who lives inside is far greater than who is on the outside. What praying does inside of us is better than what it does for us by stirring up our inner man.

“But you, beloved, build yourselves up (founded) on your most holy faith (make progress like an edifice higher and higher), praying in the Holy Spirit”. Jude 1:20 (Amplified Version).

2. Praying Strengthens our Emotions:  

Praying strengthens our emotions because when troubled praying gives unexplainable peace and joy. It is the antidote to depression and anxiety. As believers, when we encounter challenges we should always pray because it changes things.

3. Praying Keeps Us Instructed and Edified:

After or during the period of praying, we can receive a word of knowledge over a particular situation. Praying keeps us instructed on what to do per time in our individual lives. It also edifies us by making us better people.

4. Praying Produces Effective Power:

The phrase “effectual fervent” means ENERGEO. It means to be operative, to put forth and produce power. Our prayers produce power. It makes the power in us more productive.

James 5:16 specifically tells us that the effectual prayer of a righteous man produces results. When we pray it produces effective power in us as believers.

5. When We Pray God Surpasses our Expectations: 

“Now to Him Who, by (in consequence of) the [action of His] power that is at work within us, is able to [carry out His purpose and] do super-abundantly, far over and above all that we [dare] ask or think [infinitely beyond our highest prayers, desires, thoughts, hopes, or dreams]”. Ephesians 3:20 (Amplified Version).

When we pray God surpasses our expectations. He can do far more than we expect when we pray. This is why praying should not be left to chance.

6. Praying Produces Results:

Even when we feel we cannot continue anymore we should persevere in prayer by making deliberate and conscious efforts. When we persevere in prayer, we are ever constant at it. We should never stop praying even when our prayers are not yielding results.

Elijah kept praying for the rain to fall till when it happened. He didn’t give up praying even when the rain didn’t fall 6 consecutive times (1 Kings 18:43-44).

7. It enables us to pray longer:

The more we pray the easier it is to persevere in prayer. If we could only pray for five minutes when we persevere in prayer we can go up to 10 minutes, to 15 minutes and so on. Perseverance in prayer makes our prayer life more beautiful and enjoyable. We are instructed in Ephesians 6:18 to:

“Pray at all times (on every occasion, in every season) in the Spirit, with all (manner of) prayer and entreaty. To that end keep alert and watch with strong purpose and perseverance interceding on behalf of all the saints (God’s consecrated people).” Ephesians 6:18 (Amplified Version).

8. Prayer gives Us boldness:

When we constantly pray we build up the boldness to the will of God. Praying gives us the courage to travel to certain places and preach the Gospel etc. 

Before the crucifixion of Jesus, He earnestly prayed as shown in Matthew 26:36-44. He prayed because it would give him the zeal, boldness and strength to do the will of God.

9. Praying strengthens our relationship with God:

Prayer is the act of communicating with God and when we always pray it grants us the opportunity to always talk to God. In praying always, we are building our relationship with God

10. Praying Makes Us To Have A Vibrant Devotional Life:

Praying makes our devotional life to be better because when we constantly pray our walk with God becomes more effective. Mind you! praying is not the only act that makes our devotional life effective. Praying and studying the Bible are two strong ingredients for a vibrant devotional life.

13 Scriptures On Prayer:

1. Romans 12:12: Rejoicing in hope, patient, in tribulation, continuing steadfastly in prayer.
2. 1 Thessalonians 5:17: Pray without ceasing.  
3. Ephesians 6:18:  Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, being watchful to this end with all perseverance and supplication for all the saints.
4. James 5:13:  Is anyone among you suffering? Let him pray. Is anyone cheerful? Let him sing psalms.
5. Mark 11:24:  Therefore I say to you, whatever things you ask when you pray, believe that you receive them, and you will have them.
6. Psalms 141:2: Let my prayer be set before You as incense, The lifting up of my hands as the evening sacrifice.
7. Matthew 6:7:  And when you pray, do not use vain repetitions as the heathen does. For they think that they will be heard for their many words.
8. Psalms 17:6: I have called upon You, for You will hear me, O God; Incline Your ear to me, and hear my speech.
9. Matthew 26:41: Watch and pray, lest you enter into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.
10. Romans 8:26: Likewise the Spirit also helps in our weaknesses. For we do not know what we should pray for as we ought, but the Spirit Himself makes intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered.
11. Philippians 4:6: Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God.
12. James 4:3:  You ask and do not receive, because you ask amiss, that you may spend it on your pleasures.
13. 1 Timothy 2:8: I desire therefore that the men pray everywhere, lifting up holy hands, without wrath and doubting.

CONCLUSION

I hope this blog post has given you a proper insight into the reasons why you should always pray as a believer. Praying is a lifestyle to adopt. We should learn how to take our prayer life more seriously. When we pray we take from within and put upon, prayer aligns us to the will of God over our lives and so much more.

Do not place the main focus of your prayer on what you can get from God rather pray with the focus on the action that will take place inside of you when you pray. Don’t forget to like, subscribe and leave a comment on this post.

“A man who hasn’t learned to persevere hasn’t learned to pray”.

-Pastor Emmanuel Iren.