Christian prayer is distinctive because it arises from understanding the Triune God and occurs through Christ.[1] Yet the reasons we pray extend far deeper than mere religious obligation—they touch the heart of what it means to follow Jesus.
At its core, prayer centers on relationship with God rather than simply requesting things, with its fundamental purpose being to know God in a growing relationship of loving obedience.[1] Prayer is “keeping company with God,”[1] an intimate communion that involves sharing in the divine nature and being transformed into Christ’s image—a way of life lived in intimate relationship with God resulting in transformation.[1]
Prayer also proves essential for Christian survival and flourishing. The Christian life cannot be sustained without prayer; it is the Christian’s vital breath.[2] Christian living and prayer go hand in hand, with all who live the Christian life successfully engaging in prayer as an expression of the new life God imparts through his Spirit.[3]
Practically, prayer is God’s appointed method of obtaining what he has to bestow, with the lack of necessary blessings in life coming from failure to pray.[2] Yet this instrumental dimension serves a larger purpose. Acts of prayer are always responses to first hearing God speak or seeing him act, with believers perceiving God’s activity in daily life and answering in honest and humble speech.[1]
True Christian prayer begins with theology—what we think and believe about God—since devotion grows only from theological understanding, arising from God’s revealed Word as we humbly ask “Who are you, God?” and submit to him.[1]
[2] William Evans and S. Maxwell Coder, The Great Doctrines of the Bible (Chicago: Moody Press, 1974), 171–172.
[3] Derek Prime, Practical Prayer (Scotland, UK: Christian Focus, 1992), 27.
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