The Necessity of Prayer
He saw that there was no man, and wondered that there was no intercessor; ~ Isaiah 59:16a
Why does God require us to pray? Why does He need our prayers if even before we ask He already knows what we need? How powerful is prayer? Why is it so important to a believer and why are we commanded to pray without ceasing? These, believe it or not, are some of the questions that bombard the minds of many believers. I myself have been there, and even though I am still learning to pray, I have to confess that it’s a subject that cannot be ignored. Prayer is extremely important. Believers who know who they are and why they exist can attest to it.
One of the reasons why some of us ignore prayer is because we either don’t understand it, or we don’t see the need for it, yet it is one of the most important things in the life of a believer. Ignoring prayer is simply falling flat face. This is what happened in the ancient days. People in the days of Isaiah failed to seek God in prayer. God looked and saw that there was no man who could stand in the gap and intercede on behalf of others, and it made Him wonder. Despite the fact that there was so much evil happening around them, no one cared enough to call on Heaven for divine intervention.
The Lord saw what was happening and He was displeased that there was no justice and no one to intercede. He wondered! We may be quick to judge these people and end up wondering ourselves, but it may shock us to know that we are in the same shoes as them. What was ‘eating’ them back then is the same thing, if not more, that is ‘eating’ us today. And it may surprise us to learn that even today, God wonders. Why? Because just like the people of ancient times, many of us who call ourselves children of God have decided to fold our hands and watch helplessly as evil continue to increase every day. Much of what goes on around us is not appealing at all, but it has become none of our business.
God wonders that most of His children know nothing about prevailing prayer and many are not interested in learning about it. If truly we are the disciples of Jesus as we claim to be, then we would cry out like the likes of Peter; “Lord, teach us to pray.” I know many of us would confess that we pray, and that we believe in prayer, but how many of us really believe in the power of prayer? As much as it is a striking thought to most of us, we need to sit and think again about the whole issue because it’s serious. For every believer in Christ Jesus, it’s one issue we cannot leave unattended. It’s of great importance to all of us and we must consider and take it with the weight it deserves because everything about our lives and godliness as believers depend upon prayer.
You will agree with me that the world is in much greater need today than it was in the days of Isaiah. But what or who will save the world? Paul tells us in the book of Romans;
For the creation waits in eager expectation for the children of God to be revealed. For the creation was subjected to frustration, not by its own choice, but by the will of the one who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself will be liberated from its bondage to decay and brought into the freedom and glory of the children of God. We know that the whole creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time ~ Romans 8:19-22 NIV
The world will be saved by the manifestation of the children of God. They carry the world’s solutions, but they must discipline themselves to pray. Things are the way they are because either we don’t pray, or we pray very little. The Church of Christ, for example, is in a sorry state today because the members have failed to pray. Most believers are living defeated lives due to lack of prayer; many church workers and servants of God are getting discouraged and disheartened simply because of lack of prayer. We are witnessing less and less people coming back to Christ because we pray little. We have lost fire for God and passion in His work because we have neglected prayer. Harvests and fruits are scarce in our work and in the church because of lack of prayer. We are constantly losing to the enemy simply because we refuse to pray. Life, for many of us, has become a mystery we will never solve because we have neglected prayer. If at all we are failing, then we must know that we have failed in our prayers. God wills to save, deliver, restore and heal us, but we must pray. His arm is not shortened that He cannot save or deliver us, but He cannot stretch it until and unless we pray more consistently, relentlessly and persistently.
