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Check out these 10 benefits of prayer with Bible verses that show why we should pray and spark more life into your prayers.
One of the most important aspects of any relationship is communication. This is not only when we speak, but also when we listen. I think you would agree that a genuine relationship is always two-way, right? And it is no different when it comes to our relationship with God.
He communicates with us primarily through His Word, and we speak to Him through prayer. The reality of this statement is that we cannot have a deep connection with God while we neglect prayer.
When we overlook prayer, we miss out on so many benefits that it provides that enrich our lives. That is why we are going to take a look at 10 benefits of prayer that I pray will encourage you to grow deeper into your communion with God.
Prayer is not only something that Jesus teaches us how to do in Matthew 6:9-13. But it is also something that we read in scripture that He frequently did.
“But Jesus often withdrew to lonely places and prayed.” – Luke 5:16
We learn the importance of prayer from Christ.
Prayer is something that He made time for, even if it meant getting up early in the morning. It is something He spent time in diligently, even if He had a day of traveling, teaching, or healing ahead of Him.
Jesus prioritized prayer because Jesus prioritized the Father. It is His will that Jesus sought and not His own.
Whether you are praying for your family, your health, special occasions, or just everyday prayers, here are the reasons why you should pray.
10 Benefits of Prayer
1. Prayer draws us close to God
“The Lord is near to all who call on him, to all who call on him in truth.”
Psalm 145:18
Those we talk to most about our lives are usually the ones closest to us. When we live a life of prayer, we live a life that is closely connected to the Lord. God is always present, that is a part of His character.
Yet, we can find ourselves feeling far from Him, not because He left but because we turned away from Him. Prayer helps us to turn to Him. In growing closer to Him, every other area of our lives is affected.
2. Prayer shapes our hearts
“I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh.”
Ezekiel 36:26
In prayer, we can surrender our hearts to the Lord. Prayer allows us to bring our hardened hearts for God to make flesh again. As we come to Him in prayer, seeking for Him to make us more like His Son, and rid us of the idols of our hearts, He begins to refine us. He starts to prune us and cut off things that do not please Him while molding our hearts into something that will glorify Him.
3. Praying grows our trust
“But blessed is the one who trusts in the Lord, whose confidence is in him.”
Jeremiah 17:7
When something stressful happens in our lives there are plenty of options that we can turn to for relief. We can turn to a television show, binge eating, or other coping mechanisms to deal with our worry. The only issue is those things do not deal with the issue at heart, it simply deafens us from it for a while.
On the other hand, when we turn to prayer, it provides us with an opportunity to grow our trust in the Lord. When life happens, we are presented with an opportunity to display trust in God by turning to Him for peace, guidance, and that which we need. As you do this, the more you grow to trust Him.
4. Prayer provides guidance
“Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight.”
Proverbs 3:5-6
The word of God is described as a light to our path. We need light to show us the way to go, to keep us safe from obstruction, and to lead us in the right way. When we come to God in prayer, we can pray His words back to Him.
We can seek guidance for the decisions that are ahead of us and the unknowns that we are faced with. In prayer, God is able to give us clarity and confirmation and move our thoughts toward the path that He is leading us to.
5. Prayer gives us perspective
“So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.”
2 Corinthians 4:18
Sometimes it’s hard to see clearly when we are in the thick of a situation. There may be times when we are overcome with emotion. Times when we feel all alone. Times when we’ve viewed a circumstance in a certain way when it’s not that way at all.
That is where prayer provides us with something that doesn’t always come easy – perspective. It shows us a way that we might not have seen before and helps us to place appropriate weight on certain things in life.
6. Prayer calms our heart & mind
“Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid.”
John 14:27
There is peace to be found in prayer. The reason for this is because in prayer we meet with the one who is the Prince of Peace. We can try to find peace in many other things but they are all a faint reflection of the real thing.
As we come to God in prayer, we can ask Him to empty us of our worries and fill us with His peace. He provides a peace that not only stills the storm raging in our hearts but also keeps our minds in perfect peace. It’s a peace that doesn’t always make sense for the circumstances that you’re facing because it is a peace that passes all understanding.
7. Prayer conforms your will to God’s will
“Jesus withdrew about a stone’s throw beyond them, knelt down and prayed, “Father, if you are willing, take this cup from me; yet not my will, but yours be done.”
Luke 22:41-42
When Jesus was at the brink of giving His life as a sacrifice for the world, He ends His prayer to God the Father in a remarkable way. He says not my will but Your will be done. Even in deep agony, with the weight of the whole world’s sin on His shoulders, He sought to surrender His will to God’s will. A perfectly trustworthy will.
When we come to God in prayer we get to abandon our own will which is often tainted and ask God to make His will our will. When our will conform to God’s will we are able to see so many things come to fruition because God will accomplish His will.
8. Prayer makes us more like Jesus
“For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters.”
Romans 8:29
One of God’s main workings in the life of the Christian is to make us look more like Christ. This is an inward work that He does that flows into our character, attitude, thoughts, behavior, and service.
Prayer is God’s workspace that He uses to chisel us into the image of His Son. In prayer, we can ask Him to help us grow in the fruit of the Spirit, which is what Jesus lived out to the full.
9. Prayer leads us to forgiveness
” Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.”
Ephesians 4:32
Prayer isn’t only a way for us to seek and find forgiveness from God for our sin. It is also a way through which we can ask God to help us forgive others who have hurt us. Forgiveness is more than words, it’s a heart posture toward someone.
Often bitterness, unforgiveness, and hurt can harden our hearts. When we come to God asking to help us forgive those who have injured us, He softens the ground of our hearts, enabling us to forgive as He forgives us. It is forgiveness that comes from the heart.
10. Prayer sets our minds on things above
“Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things.”
Colossians 3:2
There are so many things that demand our attention down here on earth. Whether good or bad, we can easily find ourselves caught living more in the now, while allowing eternity and the things of heaven to grow dim in the background.
Prayer reminds us that there is something beyond this physical world we live in. It reminds us of the true reality which is spiritual. It reveals to us how many of our battles against one another are not a fight against flesh but a spiritual one.
Prayer is not only a help for our earthly life. It is the gateway to the things above, to God Himself, who is working together all things for the good of those who love Him.
Although there are plenty more benefits of prayer, these are just a few that we are able to experience as we move toward Him in prayer. The greatest thing about prayer is not simply what we get out of it, it is the fact that God is there.
He meets us there. The Creator of the universe welcomes us to dine with Him. What a wonderful privilege we have to pray to Him at any moment, in any place we find ourselves.