Prayer is Essential.

Matthew 6:7-8
7 And when you pray, do not keep on babbling like pagans, for they think they will be heard because of their many words. 8 Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him.

During the next few days I want to talk about what Jesus says in regard to prayer. When you pray, how many times do you just list off your concerns to the Lord? Is that how you pray each day to the Lord? Not only should you remember to praise the Lord and have some listening time (allowing God talk to you), but you should keep in mind a key concept: God knows what you are going to say before you even say it.

You're probably thinking (and many Christians question as well): "So if I'm not supposed to babble to God AND he already knows what I'm going to say in my prayer because he's so super, then what am I supposed to say and what's the point in me even praying?" Yes, this passage continues by saying the Lord's Prayer, but there's an important concept to understand why you should pray in the meantime.

God is a superior deity and he knows what's going in our lives. Therefore, we don't have to provide a laundry list of prayers. However, we don't want to be skimpy and avoid being engaged with him much. The whole idea of prayer is to build a closer, more intimate relationship with the Lord. The point isn't to make an understatement about God's glory by not saying anything to him or by not praising his name, but to realize that establishing a relationship with him is critical in our journey with Christ.

How do we go about making this relationship work? I mentioned it a lot last week; let God talk to you and let prayer be an active two-way conversation between you and God.