I found 17 commands from God to believers in the New Testament related to prayer. I knew we were supposed to pray to God but I had no idea there were 17 commands! That’s a staggering amount and eclipses all other commands by a lot. If God says something twice in the Bible we should take note because it’s important. So mentioning prayer 17 times means it’s of paramount importance. Without prayer nothing else is going to work. Jesus prayed to the Father which sets a good example for us to follow. If it was useful for Jesus to pray how much more will we benefit? God talks to us through His Word and we talk to God through prayer. The communication works both ways and is integral to fellowship with God as He intended. If you combine prayer with Bible study God commands us at least 26 times to talk to Him. That’s astounding when you consider God is the Creator of all and we are no more than a mote in God’s eye. What mercy! What grace! What love!
There were six verses commanding us to worship God through praise and thanksgiving in the spirit by prayers to the Father (Heb 13:15, Col 3:5, Phil 4:6, 1 Cor 10:31, Col 3:17). The shed blood of Jesus removes our sin and allows us to come before God’s throne in prayer any time to ask anything of Him. Angels in heaven don’t have that access to God. Two verses confirm we can come boldly to the throne of grace by the blood of Christ (Heb 4:16, Heb 10:19-20). What strikes me is we are to pray about all things, everything, and about whatever we do. We are God’s children and He delights in hearing from us the same way we sat with our children and addressed their concerns. We are to pray always and continuously. No detail is too minor for God to hear about it.
None of us pray enough. We are all missing out on a golden opportunity to multiply our productivity and deepen our relationship with God. I was always asking God to prepare me to witness and to bring people to me. But the Great Commission doesn’t give me the option of waiting for an unbeliever to stroll by. We are to “go” and seek out the unsaved and witness to them in whatever way works. Twice God commands us to pray for more witnesses to work the harvest field bringing men to salvation (Mt 9:38, Lk 10:2). I haven’t been aggressive in my witness for Christ and I’m still not. However, I’ve started making others aware I am a witness for Christ so my availability is out there.