We all understand prayer to be a means of communicating with God; a place of admitting our needs, making supplication and receiving from God. There are different types of prayers; prayer of thanksgiving, praise, confession, warfare, intercession, petition etc. Christians are most familiar with the latter- prayer of petition because prayer means to us asking, asking and asking and never giving!! Prayer means to us knocking and knocking for God to open to us and us not opening up to Him! It means to us seeking and seeking for our needs and wants to be met and not meeting the needs of the one we pray to. God has needs.
Yes, he desires us to be close to him always and not only when we need Him; Prayer is not reserved for the needy times, sorrowful moments, prayer is not only about our needs and wants; it is also about meeting God’s needs. Its a two way affair. It is a relationship and as much as we take from GOD, we must also understand that we need to reciprocate His love.
There are so many reasons why we pray to God but the most important reason why we pray to God should be because we love God; when we love someone, we stick with them even if they have nothing to offer. Love is not self centered. One secret to having God after your heart is giving more of yourself to Him than always thinking of receiving of Him. Our prayers to God should not only be about petitioning for things that may not even help us (yes, because we pray amiss; we do not pray according to God’s will for us), We must spend quality time with God in prayer and communion because we love him. Just as a man and woman in love desire to be together and communicate, so we, if we love God, will desire to be with Him and to fellowship with Him in proportion to our love for Him.
His desire is for us to know Him better, to build a solid and unbreakable relationship with him and this can be achieved through spending time in prayer and fellowship with him.
In our quiet moments with Him; when we just meditate on His goodness and ascribe the glory due Him, He reveals His intentions to us, He lets us in on His deepest secrets- This will be based on our relationship with Him. God will draw closer to those who draw closer to Him, He will confide in those who have won His trust and he can only reveal his deepest thoughts to those spend quality time with him. James 4:8 “Come close to God, and he will come close to you. Clean up your lives, you sinners, and clear your minds, you doubters.”
Jesus OFTEN withdrew from the crowd to spend time with his father because He was His closest companion! Luke 5:16 “But Jesus often withdrew to lonely places and prayed.” These were not times he went to ask, they are times He went just to brood over His majesty, give Him glory and God, pleased with these acts, in turn strengthens him with deeper revelations- Jesus was always in touch with His father through prayer!
Our prayer lives is comparable to a lover who only gets in touch with his/her partner only when he/she is in need! Aside that, there is no form of communication; such relationship is as good as dead. God craves our attention and i bet the reason why we encounter certain difficulties is God’s way of getting our attention and saving us from harm! 2Corinthians 7:10 “Godly sorrow brings repentance that leads to salvation and leaves no regret…”
When all is said and done, it will not be about the number of miracles you performed, how many times you went to church, which church you attended but how well you know God and how well He knows you! Blessings!