Who is Listening When You Pray? : The Point and Power of Prayer and How It Applies to You

Has prayer ever made you uncomfortable? Maybe you were in the presence of believers at a dinner table and felt a bit awkward during a mealtime prayer. Or maybe a Christian friend or family member offered to pray for you when you were going through a difficult time, but it only left you feeling offended.

The purpose of prayer is not to cause you discomfort or offend. Read on to learn what it is meant to do and how it is much more than mere words!

What is Prayer?

  Have you ever prayed? As children, many people learned the traditional mealtime and bedtime prayers, but were never taught how to truly pray and communicate with God.

Many nonbelievers also take to praying when they are going through a tough time and aren’t sure what to do or who to reach out to. Have you done this? Have you prayed to a God you weren’t even sure you believed in during a time of despair and loneliness? Many people find comfort in prayer, but it is far more than a comfort measure.

It is meant to be used as a means of communication between God, the heavenly Father, and His children. It is powerful and it changes things for those who believe they will receive whatever they ask for in prayer (Matthew 21:22).

Prayer is not the pouring out of a wish list, hoping God will grant them all. It is coming to God and sharing your worries, needs, fears and seeking His guidance and counsel. It is not meant to be a routine activity, it is meant to play out like a conversation with a friend.

Talking to God should sound natural and we can share anything with Him – and the conversations are not one sided. God shows us what to do in a situation in many ways and He always answers prayers – He doesn’t always answer them in the time we’d like or how we’d like to see them answered. But none go unanswered.   

Christians understand the importance of prayer, in their daily lives. Jesus set the example for praying and instructed us to pray for others also. This is why Christians will pray for you, it is out of love and because they know that no situation is hopeless when God intervenes.

What is the Point of Your Prayers?

While prayer is the means by which children of God correspond with the heavenly Father, in some ways it works the same for both believers and non believers. God hears all prayers.

However, if a believer is living in sin, they must pray in confession of those sins before praying for anything else. Sin separates us from God. Sin is the static in the phone line when calling upon Him.
The first prayer a nonbeliever should pray is the sinner’s prayer, this opens up the lines of communication between you and God.

God wants to be your friend; and like any friend, he does not want you to only reach out to Him when you are in need. How would you feel if you had a friend who treated you this way? One who only called when they needed to borrow money or your car? God is more than willing and capable of giving us what we ask, but first you must ask Him to come into your life and be your friend.

He doesn’t mind doing friends a favor, your best interest is always in mind and many times you’ll find that you don’t even know what it is – but God does!

If you haven’t spoken to God in a long time - or even if you’ve never spoken to Him before- you can reach Him right now! Wherever you are and whatever words you choose, it does not matter. Tell God what you’ve been through, the sins you’ve committed and how they’ve caused hurt to yourself and/or others.

Trust and believe in what Jesus Christ did for you on the cross and accept the gift God wants to give to you – the gift of eternal life. Inviting Him into your life opens up doors. Only then, will you experience the true power of prayer.