Prayer is one of the most essential foundations of Christian living, yet it has become underutilized and undervalued especially among youths. We often place low regard for people who pray a lot, and the very concept of praying for one hour, two, or even 30 minutes poses many problems to us, which isn’t supposed to be so.
Think of it this way, when you’re meeting someone for the first time, you don’t really know much about the person, but as you communicate more and more, you begin to understand the person more and begin to know details that you would have never noticed before. It’s the same thing when we communicate with God, and just as there are special privileges that you’ll enjoy for being close to someone, there are a thousand and one benefits of being close to God.
Isaiah 64:4 - "For since the beginning of the world Men have not heard nor perceived by the ear, Nor has the eye seen any God besides You, Who acts for the one who waits for Him. "
Some of the benefits of prayer are;
Your needs are met
If you ask for something from someone you don’t really know, he isn’t obliged to give it to you, so if you’re declined, he or she hasn’t done wrong.
Hebrews 11:6 says, "...he who comes to God must know that he is ..." In order for you to come to God, you need to know who he is first.
God is God, and to get something from him first, we must understand his nature. And we understand the nature of God by diligently seeking him through prayer. for he is a rewarder of those who diligently seek him (Hebrews 11:6).
Just as a good friend will not withhold something you desire from you, when you get to know God more, he will not withhold your needs from you.
“Therefore do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For after all these things the Gentiles seek. For your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.
Matthew 6:31-33 NKJV
If a son asks for bread from any father among you, will he give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will he give him a serpent instead of a fish? Or if he asks for an egg, will he offer him a scorpion? If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him!”
Luke 11:11-13 NKJV
You receive strength in your weakness;
Have you ever been in a situation that seemingly sucks away all your strength from you? A situation that seems impossible to overcome?
Well, Jesus found himself in the same boat when faced with the imminent threat of his death and crucifixion. His mortal body gave out and he asked God to “…let this cup pass over me…”(Matthew 26:39). He prayed, and an angel came and strengthened him(Luke 22:43). And through this, Jesus was able to lay down his life for us, to enable us to have communication with the father.
Is there anything you’re going through that you can’t seem to overcome, an addiction, any nagging sickness? Follow Jesus’ example and pray fervently remembering that “God’s strength is made perfect in our weakness”.(2 Corinthians 12:9).
He gives power to the weak, And to those who have no might He increases strength.
Isaiah 40:29 NKJV
But those who wait on the Lord Shall renew their strength; They shall mount up with wings like eagles, They shall run and not be weary, They shall walk and not faint.
Isaiah 40:31 NKJV
You begin to receive revelations from God
Have you ever told a secret to a random stranger or a person you just met? Let’s take it a step further, how many friends do you have whom you are comfortable with revealing your secrets to? Just your closest ones right? So of course you don’t expect God to reveal his secrets to people who have not tried to have a deeper intimacy with him.
The mysteries of God are only revealed to those who are always by his side in constant fellowship. The people that he revealed himself to Noah, Joshua, Elijah, Isaiah, Daniel, David, and many others- all had one thing in common, they were in consistent communication with God. The Revelation to John that serves as the culmination of the entire events in the Bible was revealed to the disciple whom Jesus loved and not any mere apostle.
The mysteries of the kingdom can be revealed to you too, as you have constant fellowship with God. You begin to dream significant dreams and have premonitions about events that could take place in the future. As you fellowship, you also begin to understand the things that are revealed to you. A person that receives revelations from God would not be worried about bad news such as death or sickness, because God would have given the person to handle it beforehand.
Do you want God to reveal his secrets to you? Is there something you are asking God to reveal to you? Dwell in God’s presence consistently and you’ll witness God in a deeper dimension.
The mystery which has been hidden from ages and from generations, but now has been revealed to His saints.
Colossians 1:26 NLT
The voice of God is made clearer to the person
In the book of 1 Samuel 3:1-9, a young man Samuel was called by God three times, and all of those three times, he thought it was Eli who called him. After the third time, Eli recognized that Samuel wasn’t just hearing things, but it was the Lord that was speaking to him, he then told Samuel that the next time he hears the voice he should answer, “Speak, your servant is listening”.(1 Samuel 3:9).
Most of us would have acted like Samuel If we were put into that exact same situation. As Christians, the voice of God should be easily recognizable, we should be able to understand when God is speaking and responding, but his voice wouldn’t be recognizable to us if we don’t want to hear it.
The great thing is that just as you pray consistently, the Lord begins to reveal himself more and more to you, just as I said before, and he will begin to speak to you more often. The more he speaks, the more familiar you’ll become with his voice and you’ll be able to recognize, just like Eli did, the voice of God speaking through others.
And the Lord called Samuel again the third time. So he arose and went to Eli, and said, “Here I am, for you did call me.” Then Eli perceived that the Lord had called the boy. Therefore Eli said to Samuel, “Go, lie down; and it shall be, if He calls you, that you must say, ‘Speak, Lord, for Your servant hears.’ ” So Samuel went and lay down in his place. Now the Lord came and stood and called as at other times, “Samuel! Samuel!” And Samuel answered, “Speak, for Your servant hears.”
I Samuel 3:8-10 NKJV
It’s a weapon against the enemy
At this point, it shouldn’t come as a surprise, that anyone that confesses his belief in Christ has automatically joined the squadron to fight against our adversary, the devil.
Ephesians 6:11 says, "for we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against spiritual wickedness in high places".
The battle lines have already been drawn by the devil, and he will stop at nothing to make sure that the church does not progress. The new testament church was the victim of great adversity, in Acts 12, King Herod killed James and arrested Peter to execute him. The Jews knew that if Peter was executed, it’ll be more than a significant setback for the church. Fortunately, the church did not sit idly by hanging their hands on their heads, but instead, they turned to God for deliverance. In verse 5 it says prayer was made without ceasing by the church for the release of peter and verse 6-11 shows Peter’s miraculous escape from prison.
Any situation of great adversity is a call for spiritual warfare, don’t sit back and let the devil win. You can fight back through consistent prayer!
For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds, casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ,
II Corinthians 10:4-5 NKJV
Lest Satan should take advantage of us; for we are not ignorant of his devices.
II Corinthians 2:11 NKJV
You have greater insight into God’s word
Just as was mentioned in our article on how to study the Bible, the word of God can barely be understood by mere reading. All scripture is understood properly when the eyes of your understanding have been opened by God and this is done through constant prayer. If you want to have a deeper understanding of the scripture, before ever you open his word to read, ask him to open your eyes to a greater understanding of his word. Remember bible study is also a very important part of Christian living, so make it a part of your daily life. It goes hand in hand with consistent prayer.
All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness,
II Timothy 3:16 NKJV
He will direct your path
As a Christian decisions that you make have significance whether they are terrible or good. If you’ve ever heard of the butterfly effect, the statement that says that a single flap of the butterfly’s wings can cause a tornado on the other side of the earth? That’s how important Christian decisions are.
The choices you make can make or break your spiritual life. It could be as simple as downloading a movie at a bad time or following your friend to his/her house. This is why as a Christian, consistently committing all of your activities to God is really important. He can tell you places to go, decisions that you can take at any given point, things to say, and so on.
Your life is meant to be Christ-centered, putting him in control of whatsoever activity that’ll takes place and allowing him to lead over you.
"There is a way that seemeth right unto a man but the end thereof, leads to death" Proverbs 14:12
Trust in the Lord with all your heart, And lean not on your own understanding; In all your ways acknowledge Him, And He shall direct your paths.
Proverbs 3:5-6 NKJV
Without consistent prayer, it is impossible to live a holy life.
The staple of holy living is a lifestyle where Christ will be put front and center in all the activities of your life. The only way to do that is by consistently inviting him to lead your life. Trying to do it on your own will result in failure upon failure. This is because man has always been a sinner and is imperfect. Through Jesus however, we have been set apart from sin and we have been given the ability to live perfectly, in the image of Christ. This means that we should consistently put Christ at the center of our life, or as I said, “Christ-centeredness”, constantly asking him to direct us, keep us, and reveal himself to us.
The more time you spend in God’s presence the more you begin to resemble Christ and reflect his image. You will find yourself doing what Christ would do in situations, and not what you will do. If you give all of yourself to Christ, daily you will be transformed into the same image as Christ.
But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as by the Spirit of the Lord.
II Corinthians 3:18 NKJV
Inner peace
A sign of someone that prays consistently is that the person worries less, because the line of communication between him and God is open. This is because upon all the benefits that I enumerated, he still grants us peace! I mean, should we even be worried when God has promised us all these things?
There is a tendency for us humans to doubt all the promises of God when we are faced with an unparalleled storm, one which we have never experienced before by any stretch of the imagination. Take the disciples for example, in Matthew 8:23-27, we see the disciples amid a storm and they were panicking. These are people who had already witnessed Jesus’ miracles first hand and yet they doubted, due to fear. Jesus, however, knew that they’ll be situations where we will be afraid, situations where we will forget all he has said to us and the promises he has given us, and times when we will lose all hope, and created a backup plan.
Still, when we consistently dwell in his presence, his peace will grow stronger in our hearts, that even when we face nasty situations, when we are confronted with a great storm, we would still not fret. Dwell in the place of prayer more and receive inner peace for the storms that’ll come your way.
Peace I leave with you, My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.
John 14:27 NKJV
Final words
To get the benefits of your prayer, your life must be in line with the will of God, and as you continue the prayers, your will and his will tend to link up. Remember, no one is saying you should begin praying for long stretches immediately, but whenever you want to pray, pray for backup from the holy spirit.
"Likewise the Spirit also helps in our weaknesses. For we do not know what we should pray for as we ought, but the Spirit Himself makes intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered."- Romans 8:26
May God help you as you continue to grow your spiritual life.
Godly Youths Hub 