Four Things You MUST Understand About Prayer

Prayer, in the context of the Christian faith, could be defined as “a communication directed to God, through which we, His children, share our hearts, our hopes, and our love with Him” (my definition).  We sometimes get all caught up in whether we have expressed our prayers in the “right way” so they will be effective, as if form matters more to God than the substance of our effort.  We must never worry that though we express ourselves with all the fervor we can muster, that God will somehow ignore our outreach to Him because we didn’t put the words in the right order or close with just the right benediction.

Why is prayer a bit of a mystery to us?  It shouldn’t be.  People have always spoken to God about their circumstances, believing He cares and can and will do something in response.  There is great variety in our prayer experiences, from those who just “wing it” to those who only pray the “Lord’s Prayer” from the pages of Scripture.  But if form doesn’t matter, what does?

The prophet, Daniel, found himself exiled in a foreign land trying to maintain his own faith, while reaching out to God on behalf of his people.  Daniel 9:4-19, records the eloquent words of Daniel in prayer to God, and I encourage you to read them.  But I want to focus on what happened AFTER Daniel prayed, because he got an answer, and isn’t that what we’re all hoping for when we hit our knees?

“Do not be afraid, Daniel. Since the first day that you set your mind to gain understanding and to humble yourself before your God, your words were heard, and I have come in response to them.  But the prince of the Persian kingdom resisted me twenty-one days. Then Michael, one of the chief princes, came to help me, because I was detained there with the king of Persia.  Now I have come…   Daniel 10:12-14

The words, “Do not be afraid, Daniel” were uttered by an angel.  How great would that be?  Not only would we get an obvious answer, but it would be delivered in person by a servant of the most-high God.  But Daniel was awe-struck, just as we would be.  Note, though, the pronouncement of the angelic messenger:

1. God knows your desire is to gain understanding about your situation. (Isn’t that what most prayer is about?)  See James 1:5-6 for another example.
2. God recognizes your humility in approaching Him, knowing He cares for you.
3. God hears you when you pray, and He responds.
4. And perhaps most important for us to realize, Your prayer and God’s response sets up conflict in the spiritual realm, about which most Christians seem to know very little.

It’s important to realize that God heard Daniel’s prayer the very first day – perhaps that even implies Daniel prayed the same thing over and over.  But the angelic messenger wasn’t able to respond, delaying Daniel’s answer, because the angel was forced to do spiritual battle with another “prince” – a fallen angel determined to impede God’s answer to His servant, Daniel.  Do you ever feel like God hears you when you pray, but something keeps getting in the way?  That may be exactly what happens.  In Daniel’s case, it even took the archangel, Michael, to come and help in the battle.

Just because you can’t see the spiritual conflict doesn’t mean it’s not being waged all around you.  Never fail to pray, always believing that God hears, He cares, and He answers.  Because your prayers are worth fighting for.  Even the angels know that.

Jacob