by H.F. Sharp, Sr. | from The Preceptor, April, 1985
In writing on the subject of the importance of prayer, let us first observe that prayer is the avenue by which we make known to God our petitions and our thanks. The Christian’s request, of course, stems from a heart that is filled with adoration and love of God: requesting the things that he needs, thanking God for the things that He has already given him, recognizing how little and insignificant we are in the sight of God.
Prayer is important first of all because God commanded it. In 1 Thessalonians 5:17 we are told to pray without ceasing. Prayer is a very important thing because as the result of it our sins are forgiven. In 1 John 1:9 we read “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”
In prayer we show our adoration of God. In the Old Testament when Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylon, had become so powerful and so high and mighty in his opinion of himself, he said in Daniel 4:30 that he had gained this great kingdom by his own power and might. After God caused him to go out into the field and eat grass like an ox and his body was made wet with the dew of heaven, he was made to recognize how powerful God is, and he honored and praised him. In Daniel 4:34-37 he said:
I lifted up mine eyes to heaven and mine understanding returned to me, and I blessed the most High, and I praised and honored him that liveth forever, whose dominion is an everlasting dominion, and his kingdom is from generation to generation: and all the inhabitants of the earth are reputed as nothing: and he doeth according to his will in the army of heaven, and among the inhabitants of the earth: and none can stay his hand, or say unto him, What doest thou?
In our prayers to God we should recognize the greatness of God and adore him also. We are told by the apostle Paul as he writes to young Timothy in 1 Timothy 6:16 that he dwells in light that no man can approach. It would be wonderful if each of us could recognize how small we are, how inadequate we are to supply our needs. What frail creatures we are. We cannot approach this One who dwells in light unapproachable without mediation by Christ. It is impossible for me to pray to God without recognizing the name of Christ and to pray to him acceptably and in harmony with his will. How little I am as a creature upon His earth as the God of heaven looks down upon the creatures of the earth. Prayer is important because it should make us recognize how small and insignificant we are and how much we need Him. In calling on him in prayer we are made to recognize how great He is; how noble and how high! Certainly sometimes we seem unaware of these things and fail to think about them, but a sincere and honest prayer to God, when we are pouring out the petitions of our heart to Him, makes us recognize how much we need him and what little ability we have to help ourselves. Prayer, then, is certainly important in that we can adore God.
We also recognize the importance of prayer in showing our appreciation to God for the things he has given us. How many times have we thought to thank God for the very air that we breathe or the water we drink, for the food that we eat, the clothing we wear and especially for the thousands of brethren in Christ of like precious faith who encourage and help us on the road to heaven? I remember that on one occasion as Christ was passing through a town there were ten lepers who cried out asking Jesus to heal them (Luke 17:11-19). Christ heard their plea and answered their cry. He told them to go and show themselves to the priest. As they started they were healed. One leper out of the ten turned back to give thanks to God. He showed his gratitude. How ungrateful people are in this day and age. I think on many occasions how ungrateful I am and ·forget on many occasions to thank God for what he has done for me. I fail to thank him for the kind of parents I had, for the kind of grandparents I had, for my boys who are preaching the gospel of Christ, for a wife who has encouraged me throughout all the days of my life as a preacher. I sometimes fail to thank Him for all the things he has done. Sometimes we become ingrates. The most despicable thing we can think about is man’s ingratitude – to be an ingrate. In prayer to God I can show him how truly grateful I am to him. The apostle Paul said in Philippians 4:6-7:
Be careful for nothing; but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God. And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.
Through prayer our needs are supplied. We are told by that grand old apostle Paul that God will supply all our needs (Philippians 4:19). How wonderful it is to know that I can cease to worry about the things of this old world because God will supply those needs. He may not supply for me a million dollars, but He will supply the needs that I have. He will assist me in all the ways that I go. In the very shadow of the cross, Christ prayed in the garden of Gethsemane: “O my Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me: nevertheless not as I will, but as thou wilt.” (Matthew 26:39) God supplied that need. He answered that prayer. He sent an angel from heaven to strengthen him (Luke 22:43). All the need that Christ had at that time was supplied, but the cup did not pass away. God heard and answered his prayer.
In prayer, we show the faith we have in God who loved us and gave his Son to die for us. In Luke 18:1- 8 Christ spoke
a parable to this end, that men ought always to pray, and not to faint; saying, There was in a city a judge, which feared not God neither regarded man: and there was a widow in that city; and she came unto him, saying Avenge me of mine adversary. And he would not for a while: but afterward he said within himself, though I fear not God, nor regard man: yet because this widow troubleth me, I will avenge her, lest by her continual coming she weary me. And the Lord said, Hear what the unjust judge saith. And shall not God avenge his own elect, which cry day and night unto him, though he bear long with them? I tell you that he will avenge them speedily. Nevertheless when the Son of man cometh, shall he find faith on the earth?
In this parable we are shown that we should be persistent in our prayers to God: praying for the things that we need, for the things that will cause the spread of Christianity, for the things that will cause others to hear the word of God and be brought to Christ. If in our prayers we make our request not one time but over and over, God will hear. As this unjust judge did for the woman what she asked, not because he feared God nor worried about man, but because of her persistence in making her request. How persistent we should be in our prayer to God. He concludes this particular parable by saying, “Nevertheless when the Son of man cometh, shall he find faith on the earth?” This is an outstanding question. When asking whether there will be faith on the earth, is he asking whether there will be faith in God when Christ comes? I hardly think that is what he has reference to. It seems to me there will always be men who have enough judgment, enough common sense, to recognize that there is a Creator and a heavenly being. I can’t look at the world and this vast universe as it works in harmony with the laws that God set in order – and so completely perfect it is that all our watches are set by God’s great chronometer the sun above – and but believe that there will always be some who believe there is a God. He is not talking about whether there will be faith that there is a God when Christ comes or whether there will be faith that the Bible is the word of God. Brother C.R. Nichol once said, “I can take the 2nd chapter of the book of Daniel and prove to any infidel or modernist, whose mind is free and open, that the Bible is the word of God. No man can consider the statements made in Daniel 2 about the four great world-wide kingdoms that were to come as, of course, Nebuchadnezzar was the first ruler of those great kingdoms and then the Medo-Persian kingdom, the Grecian kingdom and finally the Roman kingdom. As Daniel told king Nebuchadnezzar what his dream was and told him what was going to come to pass, no man can read the statements made by Daniel and fail to recognize that these events were being foretold by God to Daniel. Thus, when Christ asked, “When the Son of man cometh will he find faith on the earth?”, he did not inquire about faith that there is a God or that the Bible is the word of God, but whether or not he will find men on the earth who have faith in the prayers they pray. My friend, how much faith do you actually have today in the prayer you pray to God? Do you truly believe that he will hear? Do you believe that he will answer your prayer? When the Son of man comes will there be people on the earth who have faith in the prayers they pray to God. That God hears and God answers.
Brother Homer Hailey once remarked that prayer is the most neglected source of help the Christian has, and I believe that statement to be true. It is the greatest source of help that you and I will ever have in this life. When troubled minds come, our loved ones are gone, problems arise in the church, enmity arises between brethren, friends forsake us, how wonderful it is to take these things to the Lord in prayer. He knows, He hears, He understands and He answers. Will the time come when there is no faith in the prayers we pray?
James said “The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much” (James 5:16b). The importance is that we can show our faith to God and our faith in God and faith in his word by doing what he says. Prayer is a very important thing. When mothers and fathers allow their children to go forth in the world without ever having seen them utter a prayer to God in their home, that boy and girl go out with two strikes against them. Pray in your homes. Pray with your children. Let your lives by prayerful lives, and God will hear, and God will bless.
