Is Your Prayer Life Rich Enough?

When you pray, how do you pray?  Well, Jesus tells us that we are to pattern our prayers after the Lord's Prayer; first praise God, then confess our sins, then give Him thanks, and finally, ask for our needs, which should include the needs of others.  I must confess to you that my prayer life is not as rich as it should be and, as a result, I was convicted by the following lesson.

In 2 Cor 1:8-11, when Paul speaks to the Corinthians, he is also speaking to us about the need of prayer everyday. He is referring to physical death in verse 9, however he says that they/we are to rely on God through prayer, and not on themselves/ourselves, for God has the ultimate power to "[raise] the dead" (2 Cor 1:9 NIV).  This is because we can do nothing without God; in fact, "[we] can do all things through Christ, which strengthens [us]" (Phil 4:13).  But, we first need to know how to pray, and then we are to pray without ceasing.

One of the most important things that we should ask for in our prayers is the salvation of others.  All believers have the responsibility to reach out to others for Christ.  In verse 11, Paul writes about things that will drive us to intercede for others. There are three things that are outlined in this verse.  

The first, is that God helps us through the prayers of others (or vice verse).  In Rom 8:26,it is stated "the Spirit helps us in our weaknesses" (NIV).  When we do not know what to pray for, or we are having trouble finding the words, Jesus intercedes for us.  He takes over, if you will, and He is our spokesperson. This  is not to say that we do not need to pray, on the contrary, we need to come to the Throne Room, drop to our knees, and show that we are willing to at least try.  But, as it states in 1 Jn 2:1, Jesus is our advocate with the Father.

The second thing that drives us to pray that is outlined in 2 Cor 1:11 is the purpose of prayer, which is so that "many will give thanks on our behalf" (NIV).  This gives us the opportunity to give glory to God.

The final reason is the "gracious favor granted us in answer to the prayers of many" (2Cor 1:11 NIV).  This reminds us that God does His work through prayers.  He is all-powerful and, of course, He can do His work without prayer, but that would not be beneficial to His children. We need to show dependence on our God,  What better way than through prayer?!