By Paul Hammons
January 27, 2019
One of the most important foundational principles of our lives in Christ is the idea that we should be a prayerful people. And yet, so many of us feel that our prayer life isn’t what it needs to be – whether we don’t pray enough, we’re not sure what we should be praying for, our prayers are redundant, or maybe it just doesn’t seem as if God is answering us.
One of the challenges is that when we judge effective prayer, we tend to look at the bottom line: Did we get what we asked for? Did I get the “sense” that God heard me? But sometimes, we forget that some of the most important goals of an effective prayer life aren’t about whether my prayer is answered. If I’m praying as the Bible teaches me to pray, my prayers should be having an impact on the way I live my life!
There are (at least) seven things that effective prayers will do for us as Christians that have little or nothing to do with whether God answers our prayers or not:
- Prayer reminds me of my true place in my relationship with God, the Creator
- Prayer provides me with certainty in praying to an eternal God
- Prayer reminds me of all God’s blessings, and makes me more thankful (that is… if I’m doing it right!)
- Prayer reminds me to be mindful of others that need our prayers – and our help!
- Prayer helps us see what we value in life, and reminds us what we should value
- Prayer teaches me to wait in patience for God’s blessings
- Prayer keeps me focused on a greater hope beyond this life