The Atmosphere of Prayer

Prayer is more than just asking God for our wants and needs. It is a beautiful experience where we meet with God, our father, who longs to have communion with us.

Throughout Jesus’ ministry, He shows us just how important private personal prayer with God is. We find him getting up before daybreak and going out to an isolated place to pray (Mark 1:35) and also going up on a mountain to pray, where he prayed to God all night (Luke 6:12).

In my relationship with God, my personal prayer time has been a place where I draw strength and find God’s guidance and wisdom. These times have helped build my trust in God as I’ve seen Him move in answer to my prayers.

In Matthew 6:6, Jesus shows us how to create the atmosphere for prayer.

“But when you pray, go away by yourself, shut the door behind you, and pray to your Father in private. Then your Father, who sees everything, will reward you.”

Here’s how we can apply this verse to our day-to-day life:

• Go away by yourself – Find a place where you can be yourself with God and no one can hear you.
• Shut the door behind you – Remove any distractions and just focus on God.
• Pray to your Father – Simply talk to your father. Tell Him what’s on your heart and ask Him to speak to you. Come as you are and be yourself.
• God sees everything – God knows what you need even before you ask (Matthew 6:8). He sees your heart and intentions. We don’t need to hide anything from Him.
• He will reward you – God is a good father who wants to give us good gifts (James 1:17). When you meet with God, He gives joy (Psalm 16:11), peace (John 14:27), freedom (2 Corinthians 3:17) and many more.

One of my favourite quotes about prayer says “Our prayers may be awkward. Our attempts may be feeble. But since the power of prayer is in the one who hears it and not in the one who says it, our prayers do make a difference.” – Max Lucado

God loves you and He’s inviting you to meet Him in prayer today.

Questions

• Do you find prayer easy or difficult? Why do you think this is?
• What are the stumbling blocks that keep you from praying?
• What is one thing you’re taking from this talk to improve your private prayer life this week?