Part of our spiritual DNA as believers and followers of Yeshua is that we are a people of prayer. Prayer must be a common practice and righteous attribute of all Christians. Our interest and practice of prayer reveals to the world that we have an authentic relationship with God. Our daily and faithful prayer says to those who know us – God is real. The result is – we think about prayer a lot and we must also pray a lot. Sometimes we may feel like we are weak in certain high leverage aspects of prayer, like intercession or praying when someone we love is seriously ill – but it is still vitally important that we pray. Why? Because we believe that God cares, hears, and answers prayer. Nothing more and nothing less.
The desired outcome for this teaching is to help us in our thinking and understanding about prayer as 2025 unfolds. And as I proceed, let me say that no matter where you are right now in your understanding and practices of prayer and actively praying – be open. Open to me, open to God, open to one another, and above all – open to praying like you never have before.
Although prayer (as we will learn) has many dimensions and interpretations to it, in its’ simplest form, prayer is the way we express our relationship both to and with God. It is talking with Him and it is walking with Him. Yet even knowing that He walks and talks with us, we continue to ask, “Where are you”? The answer is that He is with us – and as long as we believe in Him, as long as we love and trust Him, and as long as we worship and honor Him, God has promised to be with us.
Matthew 28:18-20
“And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”
Psalm 139:7-12
“Where shall I go from your Spirit? Or where shall I flee from your presence? If I ascend to heaven, you are there! If I make my bed in Sheol, you are there! If I take the wings of the morning and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea, even there your hand shall lead me, and your right hand shall hold me. If I say, “Surely the darkness shall cover me, and the light about me be night,” even the darkness is not dark to you; the night is bright as the day, for darkness is as light with you.”
God is ever present. It is His presence that we must acknowledge and confess before Him; and in prayer we continually give thanks to Him not only because He is forever with us – but because of His goodness, love, and mercy toward us. We are His very own. It is the act of selfless love, humble service, and genuine gratitude that categorically and unambiguously expresses our absolute trust and dependence upon the Lord. This is established between us in prayer when we pray… “Lord, here I am, I am yours – I belong to you.”
[Yahweh hin-neh ani; ani at-tah; ani she-ya la-chaf]
The biblical truth here – in prayer we present ourselves to God as worship. We present ourselves to Him as a living sacrifice, as a reasonable response of our worship for all He has done. Praying to God gives to Him that which He desires of us – our complete love and affection.
Romans 12:1
“I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship.”
The urge and sense to pray can, of course, arise at any time or in any circumstance. It is important to note that in times of great emotion and distress – times when we are so overwhelmed with circumstances of grief, pain and sorrow – we often find ourselves pouring out our hearts to God. However, prayer can also be a simple moment of awe and thankfulness- like when we are struck by the beauty of His creation around us.
The examples we have for how to pray are evident from the Old Testament to the New. From the faithful structured routine of Daniel praying three times a day, to the unimaginable intensity and anguish of Jesus, who prayed until He literally broke capillary vessels and bled. Yes, it is physiologically possible – ask me. We must include the direct command of Jesus as He taught His disciples how to pray.
Matthew 6:9-13
“Pray then like this, “Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name. Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.”
Remarkably, it was the persecuted Christians of the 2nd and 3rd century Church who humbly added the doxology to the end of the command prayer of Jesus.
“For yours is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory forever. Amen.”
That very prayer and instruction is the single most recognizable prayer known in the history of mankind. Yet today, it is the infamous words of Jesus to his sleeping disciples in the Garden of Gethsemane that we must remember most. Jesus said in the Gospels of Matthew 26, and Mark 14…
“Watch and pray that you may not enter into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.”
Obviously, these are direct and sacred words from the Teacher Yeshua. So, for the disciples to watch and to pray in that critical circumstance was important and essential to Him. Given the foretold outcomes of the moment, it should have been important to the disciples as well. However, in terms of spiritual worth and human value, there is limited benefit for one to simply watch if one does not pray – the first is a waste without the last. In a biblical context, praying gives purpose and meaning to watching. The call of Yeshua to His disciples to pray in the moments just before the active and violent conflict of His arrest and crucifixion was in reality a call to His followers to engage themselves in the most significant act of spiritual warfare ever known to humankind. It was certainly a profound preemptive call – and certainly it is a call that is most relevant for 2025. In fact, the Bible teaches us that we ought always pray.
Luke 18:1; 6-7
“And he (Jesus) told them a parable to the effect that they ought always to pray and not lose heart. And the Lord said, “Hear what the unrighteous judge says. And will not God give justice to his elect, who cry to him day and night?”
The call for believers, followers, and people of faith to pray becomes more radical than some would even imagine. The apostle Paul in his instruction to the Christian churches of Thessolonika taught the following about the importance and essentials for Christian living and prayer.
1 Thessalonians 5:13-18
“Be at peace among yourselves. And we urge you, brothers, admonish the idle, encourage the fainthearted, help the weak, be patient with them all. See that no one repays anyone evil for evil, but always seek to do good to one another and to everyone. Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.”
We have many ideas, understandings, misunderstandings and motives regarding prayer and praying. For example, prayer is not declaring earthly comforts and material possessions or wealth into existence as if we held creative power over God Almighty! Those who are sincere and intent about prayer prioritize that we have a sound biblical understanding of prayer, and that we are committed to following that biblical understanding in our lives each day. As I have already indicated, prayer should never be minimized or reduced into simply something us Christians do or use to express our will above or contrary to God’s. Although what we do is important to God, true prayer (the humble act of praying) is a distinction of authenticity for who we are as followers and servants of Christ. Prayer is not only essential to what we believe, it is an evident and active practice of our faith in God and the genuine Christian lifestyle.
As (what I call) “the final great reveal” converges, I want to teach you and the ones you love to pray to God whom you love even more. I do not want to teach just words or reasons to pray, or one more “do it this way” method or technique of prayer. We do not pray just to check a box, but rather, in true prayer we (each one of us) discover the heartbeat of God for those who right and righteously call upon the name of the Lord, in faith believing. Over the next few months we will continue to integrate into our teaching and worship not only a biblical roadmap for prayer, but the practical and continual application of praying. This will include praying in many forms, while welcoming the power and presence of the Holy Spirit to reveal prayer in biblical ways and purposes never before known to us. For now, we can begin with some biblical principles for praying as individuals and as a faith community.
Biblical Foundations for Prayer
How to Pray
When we pray, it is to God the Father, through God the Son, by means of God the Holy Spirit. In general praying to God is praying to Jesus is praying to God – if that makes sense. However, as we grow in our understanding and knowledge of God’s will and ways, we can put into practice an increasingly more biblical order to our prayer and intercession. The bottom line to prayer is that we seek out – call out – cry out – or praise out loud His Holy name! He hears a contrite heart when we pray.
Matthew 7:7-12
“Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks it will be opened. Or which one of you, if his son asks him for bread, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a serpent? If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask him!”
Mark 11:22-25
“And Jesus answered them, “Have faith in God. Truly, I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, ‘Be taken up and thrown into the sea,’ and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that what he says will come to pass, it will be done for him. Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours. And whenever you stand praying, forgive, if you have anything against anyone, so that your Father also who is in heaven may forgive you your trespasses.”
Matthew 6:9-13
“Pray then like this, “Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name. Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.”
I Timothy 2:5-8
“For there is one God, and there is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, who gave himself as a ransom for all, which is the testimony given at the proper time. 7 For this I was appointed a preacher and an apostle (I am telling the truth, I am not lying), a teacher of the Gentiles in faith and truth. I desire then that in every place the men should pray, lifting holy hands without anger or quarreling.”
Isaiah 66:2
“All these things my hand has made, and so all these things came to be, declares the LORD. But this is the one to whom I will look: he who is humble and contrite in spirit and trembles at my word.”
Personal and Private Prayer
There is a significant connection between our prayer and humility. Praying faithfully in private during personal prayer time brings that sense of humility and intimacy with God to us. The humility endears us to God – He gives grace to the humble. The intimacy deepens our love and right relationship with Him – we abide in Him and He abides in us.
Matthew 6:5-6
“And when you pray, you must not be like the hypocrites. For they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and at the street corners, that they may be seen by others. Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward. 6 But when you pray, go into your room and shut the door and pray to your Father who is in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you.”
Gathering and Public Prayer
There is indeed great value and fervency to gathering and praying as a Church body and as the household of faith – we are the community of Christ Jesus. When we pray together in agreement and unity we are promised that the glory of heaven and the worship on earth will meet with us in the middle. He is there in our midst.
Matthew 18:18-20
“Truly, I say to you, whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven. Again I say to you, if two of you agree on earth about anything they ask, it will be done for them by my Father in heaven. For where two or three are gathered in my name, there am I among them.”
Acts 2:42-44
“And they devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers. 43 And awe came upon every soul, and many wonders and signs were being done through the apostles. 44 And all who believed were together and had all things in common.”
Acts 4:31
“And when they had prayed, the place in which they were gathered together was shaken, and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and continued to speak the word of God with boldness.”
The Prayer of Faith and Believing
The Scripture indicates that one of the great keys to effective and righteous prayer is our faith in God and belief in Christ Jesus. This is particularly true when we exercise both as we pray to God in faith, through belief in Christ Jesus, by the power of His Holy Spirit. We are to pray believing, without doubting – a truth taught in the epistle of James. Our prayers should be of genuine faith and wholehearted belief.
John 16:23-24
“In that day you will ask nothing of me. Truly, truly, I say to you, whatever you ask of the Father in my name, he will give it to you. Until now you have asked nothing in my name. Ask, and you will receive, that your joy may be full.”
James 5:13-16
“Is anyone among you suffering? Let him pray. Is anyone cheerful? Let him sing praise. Is anyone among you sick? Let him call for the elders of the church, and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord. And the prayer of faith will save the one who is sick, and the Lord will raise him up. And if he has committed sins, he will be forgiven. Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working.”
James 1:6-8
“But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea that is driven and tossed by the wind. For that person must not suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord; he is a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways.”
Praying in the Spirit
We are instructed to pray not only in the Spirit, but to pray with the understanding of our minds well. The Spirit reveals truth to the conscious understanding of those who seek Him. As we pray with understanding, we are being transformed
Ephesians 6:16-18
“In all circumstances take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming darts of the evil one; and take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God, praying at all times in the Spirit, with all prayer and supplication.”
Romans 8:26-28
“Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness. For we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words. And he who searches hearts knows what is the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God. And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.”
1 Corinthians 14:14-15
“For if I pray in a tongue, my spirit prays but my mind is unfruitful. 15 What am I to do? I will pray with my spirit, but I will pray with my mind also; I will sing praise with my spirit, but I will sing with my mind also.”
Download the notes for entire teaching series on prayer HERE.
The Reunion Church in Peoria AZ is also deeply committed to prayer and we have a vibrant prayer ministry. Reach out HERE to find out more. Watch the live stream every Sunday at 10:30 am MST HERE.