“While he was in one of the cities, there came a man full of leprosy. And when he saw Jesus, he fell on his face and begged him, “Lord, if you will, you can make me clean.” And Jesus stretched out his hand and touched him, saying, “I will; be clean.” And immediately the leprosy left him.”
-Luke 5:12-23

Some of us do no pray either because we think we’re self sufficient or there isn’t an immediate visible crisis in our life. Some pray twice a year, some pray as a need arises and some are desperate prayers. Desperate prayers tend to be those who know and understand that if it weren’t for God’s grace without a shadow of a doubt that you’d be doomed. We see in this passage that the leprous man was a desperate man begging God to heal him. We need to be desperate prayers because all of us have been saved by grace. Far too long has the church neglected prayer. We to be praying constantly, incessantly, fervently and daily. We see Jesus as our model and He was praying daily and even hourly throughout his life. We need to pray in all circumstances about everything because through prayer it is a blatant acknowledgment that we need God and we are humble enough to rely on him. We honor God when we humble ourselves and pray whether we are praising Him or asking something of Him, it glorifies God.

Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.
-1 Thessalonians 5:16-18

“if my people who are called by my name humble themselves, and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and heal their land.”
-2 Chronicles 7:14

“do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”
-Philippians 4:6-7

Prayer is also the pursuit for God’s glory. In John Piper’s book “Desiring God” he makes a case for glorifying God through prayer in a small story:
“Suppose you are totally paralyzed and can do nothing for yourself but talk. And suppose a strong and reliable friend promised to live with you and do whatever you needed done. How could you glorify your friend if a stranger came to see you? Would you glorify his generosity and strength by trying to get out of bed and carry him? No! You would say, “Friend, please come lift me up, and would you put a pillow behind me so I can look at my guest? And would you please put my glasses on for me?” And so your visitor would learn from your requests that you are helpless and that your friend is strong and kind. You glorify your friend by needing him and asking him for help and counting on him.”

John 14:13 says, Whatever you ask in my name, this I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son.

Most of us don’t pray because we don’t feel the weight of the need for prayer in our lives. There others who think it is selfish to pray about our wants and desires but I would contend otherwise. I have already provided enough scripture in this post to showcase God’s view on prayer and how it is not selfish at all to ask for your needs and wants. So what are some commands that we see about prayer? What are some running themes about prayer that we should begin to see? Why should we pray?

The answers to these questions lie in scripture as do most questions. Let us renew our minds to what scripture has to say about prayer. May we humble ourselves and begin rhythms of prayer in our life that are desperate, consistent and glorify God.

So PRAY Gallery church, PRAY ALL THE TIME ABOUT EVERYTHING! What are some ways that you can change your prayer life and/or add some new creative practices that inspire prayer? How can we bring prayer out of the box. Write your thoughts here, below.

Shalom,
Mickey