What is the Point of Prayer? Archives - Christian Questions Bible Podcast

Prayer is an incalculably awesome privilege, and yet it is massively misunderstood. Prayer can easily become a ritual, an almost automatic activity like brushing our teeth. We know we need to do it because we know it’s really good for us. So, we do it at what we think are the appropriate times and in the appropriate ways. Prayer can also become a time of wishful thinking, a time when we essentially tell God how our lives could and should look. It can also become a complaining session, a finger pointing session and even a pity party. Wait, let’s take a breath! Prayer is the opportunity and privilege to talk to the God of all things through His son Jesus. If we are going to use this amazing tool, we want to be absolutely clear as to how it works and why it works!

Let’s look at a few important and fundamental questions.

Going even deeper, does God answer every prayer spoken? There are several scriptures in the Old and New Testaments that give us guidance on this.

The basic answer is no, God does not hear and answer every prayer.Why not? The Bible describes prayers that are not heeded as from those who are wicked, following idolatry and not following God’s Law. We might look at this and think, I’m safe, none of that applies to me! While this may be true, there is another scriptural piece to this equation. How focused am I on seeking God’s will and God’s way over my own? God answers those who truly seek Him.

Does this mean we are praying for the wrong things or praying with the wrong attitude? That may be true, and it may not. There are several scriptural examples of very faithful ones receiving “no” answers from God. This can only mean that there are several very good reasons for a no answer.

While our immediate response to this might seem obvious, there is a much larger and deeper purpose we may be missing. Again, scriptural examples help us understand this.

Check out our August 14, 2023 podcast, “How Can I Transform My Prayer Life? (Part I)” for more. We walk through a detailed explanation of these three fundamental points and set the groundwork for how a vital prayer life actually works. Understanding the attitude of our approach to God and the likelihood of getting strong “no” answers from Him is critical. Our prayers are for the purpose of aligning ourselves with God’s will and way. They should keep us open to hearing Him as we ask, seek and find what He wants us to do. Join us for this journey into the amazing power of prayer. All of this sets the stage for Part II of this series which asks the everyday practical questions of how prayer fits into our busy and emotional lives.

The post How Can I Transform My Prayer Life? (Part I) appeared first on Christian Questions Bible Podcast.

We always say that prayer changes things – and it does. Jesus was emphatic about this and even gave us an example of how to pray in what is known as “The Lord’s Prayer.” With prayer, as with so many parts of Christian doctrine, the core value of what the Bible teaches easily gets lost in the interpretive value of our own human perspective. Because of the imperfect human part of the equation we create many questions. What about those circumstances where someone prays for what they need, and they simply don’t get it? Is the problem that God is not listening or that He doesn’t want them to have what they need? Is the problem that this person not praying appropriately? How does this lifeline to God really work?

The first question to address has to do with accessibility. Does anyone have the ability to communicate with God at any time they desire? Should it be a general human expectation to be able to ask God for what we feel we need or for what we want? If this entitlement were true, then we would have several apparent conclusions to recognize. Our observation is that the overwhelming majority of us see their prayers as unanswered. This would then mean that God either does not hear all that well or He is completely uncaring. A quick look at the Bible confirms that neither of these conclusions is true.

There are many scriptures that describe God as “with the contrite and lowly of spirit” (Isaiah 57:15) or “hearing the prayer of the righteous” (Proverbs 15:29). These texts are teaching us that God is a willing listener but only in some circumstances. Righteousness and humility always come to the top of the list when understanding who God will respond to. Whenever righteousness is a qualification for anything in Scripture, we know it specifically means being right before God. While our own good standing in our worldly environment is good, it lacks the godly reverence needed for God to hear us.

What about those whose prayers God does hear? Do their petitions really make a difference in their own lives and the lives of others? This is a hard question to answer. The Bible does give us many examples of those who bring matters to God seeking His intervention. These examples do indicate that God is listening and responding. So if that is the case, then exactly how does this work? If our petitions to God do bring results and changes to those we are praying about, does that mean if we don’t ask then God won’t help them?

Check out our November 8, 2021 podcast, “Why Aren’t My Prayers Being Answered?” for more. We dig into what the whole communicating-with-God equation is built upon and look into how the Bible says it works. This is a fascinating journey into an important, very popular and yet sorely misunderstood subject. Understanding prayer and following its scriptural guidelines is a life changer! Don’t miss it!

The post Why Aren’t My Prayers Being Answered? appeared first on Christian Questions Bible Podcast.

Prayer is a staple of religion.  If you don’t follow any particular religion then perhaps you meditate. The point is, humans by and large are tuned to opening their minds to some kind of external power or tranquility.  For many, this opening of their minds provides a sense of security and peace as they feel heard, accepted and cared for.  So, is prayer a commodity that should be passed out to and encouraged among the masses?  Is it an elixir that can be taken to cure what ails you?  How does prayer even work?  What are its key ingredients and what is its process – or is there one?  Can prayer and meditation change your life?  What should we be praying for?

Prayer is such an enormous subject with so many adaptations that we need to take a breath and just focus on a few simple aspects.  I figure the best approach would be to directly deal with the primary question: “Will prayer change your life?” with one minor adjustment – “Will prayer change most people’s lives?”  As I see it, the answer to this question is a resounding “probably not!”  Why say such a thing?  That, my friend, is a really important question, so let’s go there…

Prayer and meditation probably won’t change the lives of most people because they do not understand and are not truly willing to understand what the basic fundamentals of prayer are.  For starters, prayer is entering into the presence of the Almighty Creator of all things.  He is unfathomably above us, He is incomprehensibly more powerful than we are and He is assuredly and eternally wiser than we will ever be.  For any of us to go before such sovereign majesty and ask for stuff or specifically desired results without some basis for that relationship besides, “God, I believe in You and this is what I need or want,” is simply a recipe for disappointment.

In the Bible, many of the 150 Psalms are prayers of one kind or another.  This is really good news, for when we combine what we can learn about prayer through these Psalms with what Jesus taught us, we can actually step well beyond wishful prayers based in ignorant desire into the world of praying with purpose, passion and principle.

In the Psalms, David teaches us that the first step in this journey is the acceptance and adoption of humility.  As simple as this may sound, it is actually an insurmountable hurdle for most.  Accepting humility is common – we readily accept the premise that God is bigger and better than we are, but it only begins there.  Adopting humility is the hard part for it is here that we must own the responsibility of actually being utterly humble in our everyday existence.  Not easy, not fun and not often a followed through practice, yet it represents an irreplaceable step in effective prayer.

Prayer can be life-changing if we change our lives enough to give it room to grow and flourish.  Learn how to make room and how to use both prayer and meditation to revolutionize your own existence.  Check out our December 18, 2017 podcast, “Will Prayer Change Your Life?” and see what needs to change so things can change!

(Theme photo courtesy of Flickr)

The post Will Prayer Change Your Life? appeared first on Christian Questions Bible Podcast.

There are some things from the days of the earliest Christian church that we read about, find inspiration from but rarely take the time to do ourselves. Fasting and praying are a particular example – these combined activities are sprinkled throughout the Old and New Testaments, yet they receive very little attention from us now. What is there about these activities that provoked such spirituality in so many of our spiritual heroes? Why fast? Why pray? Why combine them?

The post Why Focus on Fasting and Prayer? appeared first on Christian Questions Bible Podcast.