January 14th, 2025
Last week, my church and much of the body of Christ entered a time of prayer and fasting to prepare for the year to come. In this time, I have been thinking about the power and importance of prayer, during a fast and always. Isaiah 56:7 says,
“…these I will bring to my holy mountain, and make them joyful in my house of prayer; their burnt offerings and their sacrifices will be accepted on my altar; for my house shall be called a house of prayer for all peoples.”
The Lord didn’t call His church a place of teaching, worship, or anything else. All of those things are important but first and foremost, the house of the Lord is a place of prayer. 1 Thessalonians 5:17 says to “pray without ceasing.” Jesus modeled this lifestyle for us, walking in constant communion with the Father. Luke 5:15-16 says,
“Great crowds gathered to hear Him and to be healed of their infirmities. But He would withdraw to desolate places to pray.”
We have record of Jesus drawing away, to mountains and desolate places, to be with His Father, sometimes praying through the night after ministering through the day. He would pray aloud to His Father in front of crowds, and we have record of the Father speaking from heaven verbally on two different occasions (Luke 3:21-22; Luke 9:35). The power of Jesus’ prayer life was so unique that after all the miracles they saw, the disciples took Him aside and asked Him to teach them to pray (Luke 11:1). They must have understood the foundation of Jesus’ life and ministry was His prayer life—His relationship with the Father!
If it was the foundation of His life, how much more should it be the foundation of our lives? Prayer is the cultivator of intimacy. It’s the only way to walk in the power of God. It’s our personal fellowship with God and if we neglect to spend time with Him in prayer, we will die spiritually. It’s no different than our relationship with anyone. If you neglect to spend time with your spouse, your family, or a friend, your intimacy will diminish. However, the closer you are to someone, the less “catching up” there is in a conversation. The more you pray, the easier it will be to pray, and we have the promise that the Holy Spirit helps us in prayer! (Romans 8:26)
There are many aspects of prayer we see in the word of God. There is much more to it than I know or will share today, however, four things have been on my heart this week. I’m not
suggesting this is a step-by-step model but parts of prayer that should not be neglected!
The first is thanksgiving. If we try to pray without thanksgiving, we will be miserable. We enter the presence of God in thanksgiving (Psalm 100:4). This should be the foundation of our prayer life! Every good thing comes from Him and in the midst of any trial, we have every promise of Word and the salvation bought by the blood of Jesus Christ. There is always something to be thankful for! Philippians 4:5-6 says,
“Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.”
The next part of prayer I want to talk about is sharing. God wants us to spend time with Him and share our hearts. He knows everything but He waits to hear from us. If the God of the universe has the number of hairs on your head recorded, nothing about your life is insignificant to Him.
1 Peter 5:7 says,
“Cast all your worry on him because He cares for you.”
If you give every concern you have to the Lord, you won’t have to carry it!
One of my favorite scriptures in the word of God is Exodus 33:11 which says,
“The Lord would speak to Moses face to face, as one speaks to a friend.”
If we truly understand the opportunity we have as believers, we will never neglect prayer. He’s the highest authority there is. He’s the King of kings and the creator of the universe. We can have an audience with God every single day and He waits for it.
The third aspect of prayer I want to share is one that many people (even unbelievers) start and stop with. It’s asking. Many people only talk to the Lord if they’re asking for something and that isn’t a relationship. However, God does want us to ask Him for things.
James 4:2-3 says,
“You do not have because you do not ask Him. You ask and do not receive, because you ask wrongly, to spend it on your passions"
We must spend time with Him, in prayer and in His Word, to ensure we are in alignment with His heart and ask rightly.
Matthew 21:22 says,
“Whatever you ask in prayer, you will receive, if you have faith.”
The final part of prayer I want to talk about is one that I believe is most often neglected. It’s listening. A relationship isn’t a relationship if only one person speaks. God is not an idea or a feeling. He is as real as our next breath, and He wants to speak to His people. Jesus said in John 10:27,
“My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me.”
John 15:15 says,
“No longer do I call you servants, for the servant does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all that I have heard from my Father I have made known to you."
Just as the Lord spoke to Moses as a man speaks to a friend, I believe He is still looking for those He can trust to share His heart. We can come as close to Him as we want. If there is distance between us and the Father, it’s never because of Him. He has done everything He could possibly do to allow us to come close.
This week, I encourage you to spend time in prayer – thanking Him, sharing your heart, asking Him, and listening. We pray because He loves us and He’s worth all of our time. Intimacy with Him is the greatest gift we could ever be given. Every obstacle has been removed so you can talk to the creator of the universe. Let’s not neglect prayer! It’s the foundation of our lives, the foundation of His church, and the foundation of a nation. His house is a house of prayer.
“…these I will bring to my holy mountain, and make them joyful in my house of prayer; their burnt offerings and their sacrifices will be accepted on my altar; for my house shall be called a house of prayer for all peoples.”
The Lord didn’t call His church a place of teaching, worship, or anything else. All of those things are important but first and foremost, the house of the Lord is a place of prayer. 1 Thessalonians 5:17 says to “pray without ceasing.” Jesus modeled this lifestyle for us, walking in constant communion with the Father. Luke 5:15-16 says,
“Great crowds gathered to hear Him and to be healed of their infirmities. But He would withdraw to desolate places to pray.”
We have record of Jesus drawing away, to mountains and desolate places, to be with His Father, sometimes praying through the night after ministering through the day. He would pray aloud to His Father in front of crowds, and we have record of the Father speaking from heaven verbally on two different occasions (Luke 3:21-22; Luke 9:35). The power of Jesus’ prayer life was so unique that after all the miracles they saw, the disciples took Him aside and asked Him to teach them to pray (Luke 11:1). They must have understood the foundation of Jesus’ life and ministry was His prayer life—His relationship with the Father!
If it was the foundation of His life, how much more should it be the foundation of our lives? Prayer is the cultivator of intimacy. It’s the only way to walk in the power of God. It’s our personal fellowship with God and if we neglect to spend time with Him in prayer, we will die spiritually. It’s no different than our relationship with anyone. If you neglect to spend time with your spouse, your family, or a friend, your intimacy will diminish. However, the closer you are to someone, the less “catching up” there is in a conversation. The more you pray, the easier it will be to pray, and we have the promise that the Holy Spirit helps us in prayer! (Romans 8:26)
There are many aspects of prayer we see in the word of God. There is much more to it than I know or will share today, however, four things have been on my heart this week. I’m not
suggesting this is a step-by-step model but parts of prayer that should not be neglected!
The first is thanksgiving. If we try to pray without thanksgiving, we will be miserable. We enter the presence of God in thanksgiving (Psalm 100:4). This should be the foundation of our prayer life! Every good thing comes from Him and in the midst of any trial, we have every promise of Word and the salvation bought by the blood of Jesus Christ. There is always something to be thankful for! Philippians 4:5-6 says,
“Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.”
The next part of prayer I want to talk about is sharing. God wants us to spend time with Him and share our hearts. He knows everything but He waits to hear from us. If the God of the universe has the number of hairs on your head recorded, nothing about your life is insignificant to Him.
1 Peter 5:7 says,
“Cast all your worry on him because He cares for you.”
If you give every concern you have to the Lord, you won’t have to carry it!
One of my favorite scriptures in the word of God is Exodus 33:11 which says,
“The Lord would speak to Moses face to face, as one speaks to a friend.”
If we truly understand the opportunity we have as believers, we will never neglect prayer. He’s the highest authority there is. He’s the King of kings and the creator of the universe. We can have an audience with God every single day and He waits for it.
The third aspect of prayer I want to share is one that many people (even unbelievers) start and stop with. It’s asking. Many people only talk to the Lord if they’re asking for something and that isn’t a relationship. However, God does want us to ask Him for things.
James 4:2-3 says,
“You do not have because you do not ask Him. You ask and do not receive, because you ask wrongly, to spend it on your passions"
We must spend time with Him, in prayer and in His Word, to ensure we are in alignment with His heart and ask rightly.
Matthew 21:22 says,
“Whatever you ask in prayer, you will receive, if you have faith.”
The final part of prayer I want to talk about is one that I believe is most often neglected. It’s listening. A relationship isn’t a relationship if only one person speaks. God is not an idea or a feeling. He is as real as our next breath, and He wants to speak to His people. Jesus said in John 10:27,
“My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me.”
John 15:15 says,
“No longer do I call you servants, for the servant does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all that I have heard from my Father I have made known to you."
Just as the Lord spoke to Moses as a man speaks to a friend, I believe He is still looking for those He can trust to share His heart. We can come as close to Him as we want. If there is distance between us and the Father, it’s never because of Him. He has done everything He could possibly do to allow us to come close.
This week, I encourage you to spend time in prayer – thanking Him, sharing your heart, asking Him, and listening. We pray because He loves us and He’s worth all of our time. Intimacy with Him is the greatest gift we could ever be given. Every obstacle has been removed so you can talk to the creator of the universe. Let’s not neglect prayer! It’s the foundation of our lives, the foundation of His church, and the foundation of a nation. His house is a house of prayer.
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