17 Powerful Reasons You Should Pray

Here’s a blog about why you should pray and how you can dramatically improve your relationship with God.

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Prayer is an integral part of the Christian life. We all know that we should and we must pray.

However, have you ever asked yourself, “Why should I pray?”

That’s exactly what you will learn today.

So many Christians fail to recognize the importance of prayer just because they don’t know its benefits. 

As a result, they neglect their prayer life. Some, although they managed to pray, can’t seem to get the most out of their conversation with God. Others have a superficial level of prayer and some are satisfied with simply repeating words. 

The main reason this problem is real is that they just don’t know WHY prayer is important.

That’s why in this post, let me share the 15 reasons why we should pray.

Reason no. 1: God commands us to pray

The Bible tells us that we should pray. It is something that is expected from us.

Yahshua or Jesus Christ, Himself, said:

“And when you pray” (Matthew 6:5).

Our Savior, the Greatest Teacher of all, expected us to pray. He didn’t say, “IF you pray.” Rather, He said, “When you pray.”

This tells us that prayer is not a matter of if, but a matter of when!

We also read what the Apostle Paul wrote:

Pray without ceasing” (1 Thessalonians 5:17).

This alone should give us enough reason to pray.

Reason no. 2: We pray to give thanks to God

Prayer is an important tool for us to express our gratitude for the divine providence of the Almighty. Not only that, but prayer is a powerful method of praising and worshiping God!

The Apostle Paul added in 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18:

Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, in everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.

We also read:

Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God” (Philippians 4:6).

As you can see, a huge part of prayer is thanksgiving.

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Reason no. 3: We pray to praise God

When we are thankful, it inevitably will lead us to praise and worship God. 

Some of the prayers we read in the Bible that include praise to God can be found in the book of Psalms:

Psalms 8:1

O LORD, our Lord,
How excellent is Your name in all the earth,
Who have set Your glory above the heavens! 

Psalms 7:17

I will praise the LORD according to His righteousness,
And will sing praise to the name of the LORD Most High. 

Psalms 9:1-2

I will praise You, O LORD, with my whole heart;
I will tell of all Your marvelous works.

I will be glad and rejoice in You;
I will sing praise to Your name, O Most High. 

There are actually more, but this should tell you that it is indeed one of the reasons we pray is to praise the Most High God, Yahweh.

Reason no. 4: We pray for divine protection

We live in a dangerous world. Anything can happen any time of the day. Whether we are in a war or in peacetime, troubles are everywhere.

This is the reason that we should pray for protection from God. We may surround ourselves with bodyguards, walls, and even firearms. However, all those things are nothing unless God will protect you.

Here’s a sample prayer of David in Psalm 61:

1 Hear my cry, O God;
Attend to my prayer.

2 From the end of the earth I will cry to You,
When my heart is overwhelmed;
Lead me to the rock that is higher than I.

3 For You have been a shelter for me,
A strong tower from the enemy
.

4 I will abide in Your tabernacle forever;
I will trust in the shelter of Your wings.

5 For You, O God, have heard my vows;
You have given me the heritage of those who fear Your name.

6 You will prolong the king’s life,
His years as many generations.

7 He shall abide before God forever.
Oh, prepare mercy and truth, which may preserve him!

8 So I will sing praise to Your name forever,
That I may daily perform my vows.

Reason no. 5: We pray for mercy

We all need mercy from God. We all have sinned and we deserve nothing but death. Thankfully, God is merciful as we read in Psalms 103:8:

8 The LORD is merciful and gracious,
Slow to anger, and abounding in mercy

In the same chapter, verses 11-14, we also read:

11 For as the heavens are high above the earth,
So great is His mercy toward those who fear Him;

12 As far as the east is from the west,
So far has He removed our transgressions from us.

13 As a father pities his children,
So the LORD pities those who fear Him.

14 For He knows our frame;
He remembers that we are dust. 

What does proverbs 3:5-6 mean?

Reason no. 6: We pray for provision

As human beings, we are frail. We are made of dust. We need food, clothing, and shelter to survive. Thus, we pray to ask for God’s divine providence and give us what we need.

In the Model Prayer of our Savior, he said that our prayer should include this:

“Give us this day our daily bread” (Matthew 6:11).

Reason no. 7: We pray for wisdom

The bible tells us:

If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally and without reproach, and it will be given to him” (James 1:5).

God wants us to bless with the wisdom that comes from above and not just the wisdom that comes from the world.

Reason no. 8: we pray for guidance

This is somehow related to the previous point. When we pray for wisdom, we also ask for guidance. 

The Bible tells us in Psalms 25:4-5:

4 Show me Your ways, O LORD;
Teach me Your paths
.

5 Lead me in Your truth and teach me,
For You are the God of my salvation;
On You I wait all the day. 

We also know that God’s word is a lamp upon our feet. It lights our path and leads us to a deeper understanding of His truth. Most importantly, God gives us direction in our lives.

Reason no. 9: Prayer helps us develop a close relationship with God

We call Yahweh our Father. This means that we are His children. The father-children analogy shows us how God wanted to establish a close relationship with us.

We read in 2 Corinthians 6:18: :

“And I will be a father to you, and you shall be sons and daughters to me, says the Lord Almighty.”

Through prayer, we are able to talk to our Heavenly Father. We are able to share our thoughts, feelings, and endeavors in life. We are able to share our problems and dreams.

Just like in a human-level relationship, we enrich and nurture that relationship through spending time with each other.

That’s exactly what we are also doing in prayer. God is calling us to enter a relationship with Him. By prayer, we are answering that call.

Reason no. 10: Prayer strengthens us

There’s something in prayer that transforms us. You probably have noticed how after praying, you gain renewed strength. You become stronger, more courageous, and even more inspired in doing the work of God.

In Isaiah 40:29-31, we read:

29 He gives power to the weak,
And to those who have no might He increases strength.

30 Even the youths shall faint and be weary,
And the young men shall utterly fall,

31 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
.

With prayer, we are asking for God’s help to overcome trials in our lives.

Reason no. 11: Prayer helps to overcome sins

Prayer strengthens us not just physically but also spiritually.

You see, when it comes to overcoming sins, it is never possible if we are simply to rely on ourselves.

Jesus said in Matthew 26:41:

Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation. The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.”

Never ever commit the mistake of thinking that you can overcome sin alone. You need God’s help. That’s why you must pray and ask Yahweh to strengthen you and have the power to defeat sinful desires and temptations.

Reason no. 12: We pray for forgiveness

We have all sinned and the Bible confirms that (Romans 3:23). Thus, the reason for us to pray is to ask for God’s forgiveness.

We read in I John 1:9:

If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

Yes, we are sinners but thankfully, we all can be forgiven through the sacrifice and blood of our Master and Savior, Yahshua the Messiah (Jesus Christ).

Christ also mentioned this in the model prayer (Matthew 6:11-12):

11 Give us this day our daily bread.
12 And forgive us our debts,
As we forgive our debtors. 

As long as we ask for forgiveness and do our best to change, we will be forgiven.

Reason no. 13: We pray for healing

As long as we are in this mortal human body, it is inevitable that we will all get sick. Thankfully, we can always go to God, our ultimate healer. We can pray for healing and ask God to restore our health.

We read in James 5:13-14:

3 Is anyone among you suffering? Let him pray14 Is anyone among you sick? Let him call for the elders of the church, and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord.

Reason no. 14: We pray for God’s will

We read in Matthew 6:10:

10 Your kingdom come.
Your will be done
On earth as it is in heaven.

Your will be done.

It’s not our will, but God’s will.

Yahweh knows the past, present, and future. 

He knows what is good and what is not good for us. He knows how to help us to reach our ultimate destination.

Thus, His will is perfect.

If there’s anything that you want in your life, that should be the perfect will of God.

However, sometimes, we can’t automatically know His will for us. We need to pray for it and seek God’s will in our lives.

Reason no. 15: We pray for our needs

God knows what we need but we still have to pray that He would grant our needs as well as the desires of our hearts.

Philippians 4:6 tells us:

Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.

When we seek God’s will in our lives, it doesn’t mean that we can’t tell God about our desires and wants. It is just that in spite of having our own will, we are ready to yield to God’s will.

If what we ask and request from God is something that would help us reach the Kingdom, then God will grant it. If it is something that can be good for us, then God will give it to us.

Reason no. 16: Prayer transforms us

Compare a day without prayer to a day with prayer. You will soon see a huge difference.

Prayer does something special in us. When we stop and pray, spend some time with God, and talk to Him, we are actually transforming and renewing our minds. 

We are inviting the Holy Spirit to dwell in us as well, to improve our thinking. 

Prayer quiets a chaotic soul. It calms our senses. It brings peace. In simple terms, prayer transforms us.

Reason no. 17: Prayer helps us to be more like Jesus

We read in the Bible how Jesus or Yahshua was a man of prayer. He constantly prayed. He spent hours and hours in prayer.

Even though Yahshua is God in the flesh, he still saw the need to pray!

Talking about Christ, we read in Hebrews 5:7:

7 Who, in the days of His flesh, when He had offered up prayers and supplications, with vehement cries and tears to Him who was able to save Him from death, and was heard because of His godly fear…

We see how the Messiah would often wake up early to pray (Mark 1:35). 

He would also separate himself from others to have a quiet time with His Father. 

He also went to the wilderness to ensure that nothing would disturb His time with God (Luke 5:16).

We are called to live a life like Christ. Part of that is to be prayerful, to live a life of prayer.

Thus, when we pray, we also emulate the life of Christ. And when we do that, we become more like our Savior and less like our human nature.

Final words

These are some of the best reasons why we should pray. With this in mind, I hope and pray that you understand now the importance of prayer.

Knowing the reasons we pray can help us to recognize its role in our Christian life and strive to pray more and draw closer to God.

8 thoughts on “17 Powerful Reasons You Should Pray

  1. Remain blessed sir Joshua, continue to flourish, I really appreciates your efforts in making me to become a good Christian, I pay that Yeshua, it Lord Jesus help me in this journey, though many times I find it difficult to study and to pray, Father help me, and again more grace to your servant Joshua.

  2. Very powerful! Christians Living in the world today face so many distractions Satan sends against us to keep us from praying. This is very very powerful and so need thank you God bless you and keep you safe

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