The Importance of Prayer for A Successful Life

When we as believers speak about prayer, we are not talking about a random conversation with any deity. We are speaking about an intimate engagement with the Sovereign Lord. Prayer requires closeness, consistency, and intimacy. It is a deliberate and intentional act to draw closer to our Saviour.

Prayer should be the lifestyle of every believer if we are to live a successful Christian life. It is one of the most important and powerful things a Christian can ever do. Through prayer, we engage one of the most powerful tools in the hand of the believer. The Lord calls us to pray without ceasing in 1 Thessalonians 5:17.

Prayer should never be an after-thought or something left to serendipity. It should be done with earnest dedication and reverence. It is something we should do anywhere at any time - at school, at work, or in the line at the grocery store. Praying doesn’t just mean merely kneeling, standing, or lying prostrate on the ground reciting your requests to God. Rather, it is the posture of a heart and life surrendered to God’s divine will and purpose.

As believers, our heart and spirit should always be connected to the Lord. It is through a lifestyle of prayer that we are ushered into the presence of an awesome God, and into the realms of the supernatural. It is through prayer that we dismantle principles and pull down the strongholds of the enemy.

The Bible tells us in Romans 8:26 that it is the Holy Spirit that helps our infirmities. We do not know how to pray as we ought but He makes intercession for us with groanings that cannot be uttered. In addition, the Holy Ghost equips us with the power to pray effectively. It is by the Holy Ghost that we have the gift of tongues which gives us extraordinary power to conquer every diabolical force.

Praying in tongues is unfruitful to our human understanding but the bible says in 1 Corinthians 14:2 that he that speaks in an unknown tongue speak not unto men, but unto God: for no man understands him; howbeit in the spirit he speaketh mysteries.The Baptism in the Holy Spirit and more specifically, speaking in tongues, gives us access to greater realms of the supernatural and benefits us and those around us deeply.

It is through constant exercising of the gift of tongue that we gain grace and strength on this journey to live a victorious christian life over sin and over every power of darkness. It is important for every believer to seek to be filled with the Holy Ghost with the evidence of speaking in tongues. When we earnestly seek this gift, we will walk in the Acts 1: 8 anointing and will experience the supernatural manifestations of the Holy Ghost in our lives.

Sometimes we forget just how powerful and beneficial a life of prayer is. The Bible says we are fighting against principalities and powers according to Ephesians 6:12. A lifestyle of prayer helps us to defeat the devil and his schemes.

2 Corinthians 10:4 confirms that ‘the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strongholds’. Prayer is our weapon to win that battle. A prayer-filled life activates divine protection and increases our faith in God. Prayer activates our divinely- appointed power and builds our confidence. As believers in Jesus Christ, we have 24-hour access to the presence of God. It is for us to walk in His presence daily. Prayer should not be endured but it should be enjoyed everyday wherever we go.

If we desire to live a successful Christian life, a lifestyle of prayer is necessary. A prayerful lifestyle molds us into the image of God. It allows us to see more of God and less of ourselves. We must never allow our feelings to deter us from seeking the Lord. We should pray when we are up, and pray even more when we are down. When we spend time with God, He works to change our hearts to be more like His.

You may feel weary and tired sometimes and may not feel like praying, but pray nonetheless. It’s a marvelous privilege to be able to pray to the Sovereign Lord, knowing that he bends His ear low to hear us. A prayerful life should not be approached out of ritualistic duty or mere obligation, but we should endeavor to find pleasure in spending meaningful time with the lover of our souls. A lifestyle of prayer leads to times of refreshing and joy that flows from the throne room of grace.