The longer I serve the Lord, the more I realize the importance prayer plays in our daily lives. John Wesley said, “God does nothing, but in answer to prayer.” While I believe there is a lot of truth here, I believe it is an overstatement. God created heaven and earth, and all that is in it without prayer; however, Wesley was simply trying to make a point. He was saying that if we want God to do anything in our lives, we must pray. James said it best in his epistle, “You do not have, because you do not ask God.” (James 4:2)

I think the primary reason Christians, families, and churches are lacking is not because God does not want to move on their behalf; but, because we simply do not pray/ask. In fact, I do not think we need a “move of God,” as we so popularly hear, God is ALWAYS moving. We need to simply make prayer a priority, and God will answer. There is an old song that says “Now let us have a little talk with Jesus. Let us tell Him all about our troubles. He will hear our faintest cry and He will answer by and by.” God listens to the cries of His children when they pray. In Psalm 55:17 David said “Evening, and morning, and at noon, will I pray, and cry aloud: and he shall hear my voice.” God hears us when we pray.

Psalm 37:4 says that when we “delight” in the Lord, he will answer our hearts desire. Prayer is the primary way we show delight in God. Worship is wonderful, but we are often merely singing words penned by another, when we pray, it is our heart, and God’s heart touching. It is our words to Him, however awkward they may seem to us. He loves to hear us!

There are essentially three types of prayer. First is intimate prayer. This is where you bear your heart to God in a most intimate way, alone, with no one else around. Psalm 91:1 (He that dwelleth in the secret place of the most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty) is a wonderful example of this. The second is public prayer. This is simple communion with God as you go about your daily activities. Paul told Christians to do this in 1 Thessalonians 5:17 when he said, “Pray without ceasing.” Third is corporate prayer. This is praying with other believers (often at church) and it can be found in Joel 1:14, “Declare a holy fast; call a sacred assembly. Summon the elders and all who live in the land to the house of the LORD your God, and cry out to the LORD.”

Prayer is important. God wants to give us the desires of our hearts, but first we must delight in Him. In order to delight in Him, we must spend time with Him, not only talking to Him, but listening. When we pray, let us present our requests to Him, but let us also bask in His presence, and listen quietly for His voice! I will close with a beautiful verse from Jeremiah 33:3

“Call to me and I will answer you and tell you great and unsearchable things you do not know.”

Consumed by the Call,


Pastor Tim