The Power of Prayer

I think often times we don't realize the power prayer has. We may say our prayers before our meals, or before we go to sleep at night, and sometimes, maybe those are the only prayers we say in our day. I understand that we often get so busy and lost in the commotion of the day, and we forget to take some time off to talk to God.

For me, sometimes I find it easier to pray if I just consider it talking to God. There's songs I sing at church camp or in chapel, and a lot of them describe God as King of Kings, Lord of Lords, alpha and omega, so on and so forth. But there's one name that we have for our Father that really hits me - friend.

I don't think that in my journey I've yet hit the stage of calling God my friend. I think we're still at accquaintances, somewhat friends. But I long for Him to be my best friend, and when I think of it that way, I'm that much eager to get to know and talk to God. And when I think of Him as a friend, I can think of Him  in ways similar to my earthly friends.

For instance, I can't go a day without talking to my closest friends. It's hard. Have you ever tried? Not that I ever have, but when I was back home for Christmas break, I went days without talking to any of my college friends, and it drove me crazy. Imagine if our relationship with God was like that.

What if He's driven crazy when we don't talk to Him? God wants the most intimate and personal relationship with us, and sometimes we can't find time in the day to say hi. All it takes is a few minutes set aside to pray and talk to God. Sometimes I even pray when I'm in the middle of something. If I'm working, and my task isn't all thought-consuming, I take the time to thank God for the day. I pray in the shower, or whenever I have a few moments of downtime.

I want to be so close to God, and be such good friends with Him, that when I'm having the busiest day of my life, I'll be driven crazy until I can talk to Him. And at the same time, I don't think that should be possible. Really, praying doesn't require stopping and dropping all you're doing to pray. If I'm walking to a class alone, I pray, or even sitting here on the computer, I stop typing every few minutes to say something to God.

Praying doesn't have to be scary, like I once thought it was. I used to be really unsure in my prayers. I didn't want to say something wrong, or sound to selfish talking about all my problems. Sometimes I thought I wasn't sincere enough in my praises. And a lot of the time, I would stop praying because I thought it was getting me nowhere.

There are many different ways to pray, I've learned. Sometimes just taking a few minutes to talk to God, and I always mentally tell Him, "God, I invite you into my mind and heart," and then as I think of everything that's on my heart and mind, I don't feel alone, because I know that God is with me.

Sometimes my prayers are songs. If I'm singing in chapel or church, or even just listening to some good Christian/gospel music, I just lift up the lyrics to God, praising Him, thanking Him, and telling Him what's on my heart.

A lot of the time, I like to open my bible to the book of Psalms. When I read them, I can relate to a lot of them, and lift up the words of them in prayer to God.

And this is one of my favorite quotes, by an anonymous, but seemingly-wise person: "God hears your prayers, even the ones that aren't fitting into words."

So even if you don't know the words to say, God is all-knowing and there for you. He doesn't need you to speak to know what you're going through.

I could probably write a novel on all my thoughts on prayer and all the ways to pray. But I want to leave you with one last idea. With every person you know, you're relationship exists because of communication. You can't know someone you've never talked to. It's like that with God.

If you're not sure you believe, or maybe you're where I'm at, or maybe even further in your journey and stronger in your faith, I want to remind you that you can't get anywhere in your relationship with God unless you pray to him. Talk to him. If you're not sure you believe in Him, tell Him. He'll open your eyes eventually. If you're just beginning your walk with Him, talk to him, pour out your heart, you have nothing to lose with God. And if you're far down the path, I shouldn't need to tell you what to say, but thank and praise Him everyday.


"In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groans that words cannot express." -Romans 8:26

"Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus." -Philippians 4:6-7

"Answer me when I call to you, O my righteous God. Give me relief from my distress; be merciful to me and hear my prayer." -Psalms 4:1

"Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened." -Matthew 7:1-2

"Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petetion, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God." -Phillipians 4:6