“Prayer is the opening of the heart to God as to a friend.”1

It is “the presentation of our perplexities and necessities, and of our need of God’s help against our adversary the devil.”2

Do we all have perplexities? Yes. Do we have necessities? Yes. Do we have an adversary, the devil? Yes, unfortunately, we do. That is why God wants us to work together with Him, tapping into His infinite strength. Does God know our needs before we ask Him? Yes, of course, our heavenly Father knows everything; in fact, He knows the end even from the very beginning. But why do we have to pray since He knows what we need before we ask Him?

Christ said, “I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing” (John 15:5).

“We have a God whose ear is not closed to our petitions; and if we prove His word, He will honor our faith. He wants us to have all our interests interwoven with His interests, and then He can safely bless us; for we shall not then take glory to self when the blessing is ours, but shall render all the praise to God. God does not always answer our prayers the first time we call upon Him; for should He do this, we might take it for granted that we had a right to all the blessings and favors He bestowed upon us. Instead of searching our hearts to see if any evil was entertained by us, any sin indulged, we should become careless and fail to realize our dependence upon Him and our need of His help.

“Elijah humbled himself until he was in a condition where he would not take the glory to himself. This is the condition upon which the Lord hears prayer, for then we shall give the praise to Him.”3

When Christ commented, “Your Father knoweth what things ye have need of, before ye ask him,” He explained: “When ye pray, use not vain repetitions, as the heathen do: for they think that they shall be heard for their much speaking. Be not ye therefore like unto them” (Matthew 6:7, 8).

“Secret prayer is neglected, and this is why many offer such long, tedious, backslidden prayers when they assemble to worship God. They go over in their prayers a week of neglected duties, and pray round and round, hoping to make up for their neglect and pacify their condemned consciences, which are scourging them. They hope to pray themselves into the favor of God. But frequently these prayers result in bringing other minds down to their own low level in spiritual darkness. If Christians would take home the teachings of Christ in regard to watching and praying, they would become more intelligent in their worship of God.”4

“When Christ taught the people, He did not devote the time to prayer. He did not enforce upon them, as did the Pharisees, long, tedious ceremonies and prayers. He taught His disciples how to pray: “And when thou prayest, thou shalt not be as the hypocrites are: for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and in the corners of the streets, that they may be seen of men. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward. But thou, when thou prayest, enter into thy closet, and when thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy Father which is in secret; and thy Father which seeth in secret shall reward thee openly. But when ye pray, use not vain repetitions, as the heathen do: for they think that they shall be heard for their much speaking. Be not ye therefore like unto them: for your Father knoweth what things ye have need of, before ye ask Him. . . .

“Christ impressed upon His disciples the idea that their prayers should be short, expressing just what they wanted, and no more. He gives the length and substance of their prayers, expressing their desires for temporal and spiritual blessings, and their gratitude for the same. How comprehensive this sample prayer! It covers the actual need of all. One or two minutes is long enough for any ordinary prayer. There may be instances where prayer is in a special manner indited by the Spirit of God, where supplication is made in the Spirit. The yearning soul becomes agonized and groans after God. The spirit wrestles as did Jacob and will not be at rest without special manifestations of the power of God. This is as God would have it.

“But many offer prayer in a dry, sermonizing manner. These pray to men, not to God. If they were praying to God, and really understood what they were doing, they would be alarmed at their audacity; for they deliver a discourse to the Lord in the mode of prayer, as though the Creator of the universe needed special information upon general questions in relation to things transpiring in the world. All such prayers are as sounding brass and a tinkling cymbal. They are made no account of in heaven. Angels of God are wearied with them, as well as mortals who are compelled to listen to them.”5

In a familiar Bible passage found in Luke 12:22-31, Jesus assures us of His never-ending care with regard to our necessary food and raiment, bidding us to focus primarily on preparing for the kingdom of heaven. The Master was eager to educate the minds of His disciples away from the worries and burdens of this life. He was constantly teaching them to depend upon God for their existence, affirming that none of us by worrying can add even one cubit to our stature. Many argue that praying does not matter as long as one works hard. But while hard work is certainly commendable, God in His holy Word also puts human accomplishment in its proper perspective: “Beware that thou forget not the Lord thy God. . . . And thou say in thine heart, My power and the might of mine hand hath gotten me this wealth. But thou shalt remember the Lord thy God: for it is he that giveth thee power to get wealth” (Deuteronomy 8:11, 17, 18).

We don’t pray only because of physical blessings; prayer is actually essential for our spiritual growth. As faith without work is dead, so is work without faith; it is dead also.

The Bible records contain several examples of miraculous victories wrought solely through the power of prayer: Hannah in 1 Samuel 1:10, 11, 20; Elijah in 1 Kings 18:42-45; Peter in Acts 9:36-41.

There is clear evidence that without prayer, Hannah and Elijah would not have succeeded. Similarly, Dorcas would never have lived again without the prayer that Peter offered. And without prayer Esther would probably have been executed for coming to the king when it was not yet time for her to do so, and Haman would have succeeded in his plan to kill all the Jews. (See Esther chapters 3 and 4.)

If doing the will of God frees us from prayer, then Jesus would not have spent so much time praying. He was with the Father, He never sinned, and He was constantly doing the will of God His Father. Nevertheless, Christ spent time fasting and praying sometimes all night long.

“Jesus was often found in prayer. He resorted to the lonely groves or to the mountains to make His requests known to His Father. When the business and cares of the day were ended, and the weary were seeking rest, Jesus devoted the time to prayer. We would not discourage prayer, for there is far too little praying and watching thereunto. And there is still less praying with the Spirit and the understanding also. Fervent and effectual prayer is always in place and will never weary. Such prayer interests and refreshes all who have a love for devotion.”6

The idea of prayer has often been misunderstood and abused. Some seem to think that sincere prayers need to be loud, so they exert physical strength with shouting, jumping, and all kinds of gestures.

Yet first and foremost, those who pray need to know to whom they are praying. Are you offering your prayers to God so that He will take care of you and protect you from your adversary the devil, or do you want to face the devil by yourself? The truth is that the devil is defeated not because we shout, pray aloud or shake our body when we pray, but simply because we put our trust in the Lord, and do those things which are pleasing to Him. Thus the Lord fights the battle for us.

“(For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds;) casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ.” “What shall we then say to these things? If God be for us, who can be against us?” (2 Corinthians 10:4, 5; Romans 8:31).

Anyone who is praying to God must apply the method that Christ taught. “Thou, when thou prayest, enter into thy closet, and when thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy Father which is in secret; and thy Father which seeth in secret shall reward thee openly.”

The only way to receive things from the Lord is to follow exactly what He says; we can’t do things our own way and expect to receive anything from the Lord.

Let us consider these inspired steps:

1. Enter into thy closet.

2. When thou hast shut thy door.

3. Pray to thy Father which is in secret.

4. Thy Father which seeth in secret shall reward thee openly.

When we pray, we pray to God and not to man. No reasonable human being will shout, jump, or make any noise or outward display to someone who is in secret. Therefore, we should know how our prayers should be offered.

“Thou, when thou prayest, enter into thy closet” means you can talk to your heavenly Father in secret anywhere. Can one pray in secret even while in the midst of a crowd? Yes, such prayers can be done without others observing.

Shouting is not appropriate when praying to God, for He hears us when we speak from the heart even when our supplication is not audible. For instance, when Hannah besought the Lord for a son, Eli was present but could not hear any voice since the woman only moved her lips. She was praying only in her heart. But did God hear Hannah’s silent petition? He most certainly did! (1 Samuel 1:12-17, 20.)

But sad to say, many prayers are offered today in such a way that people see and hear them, but not God. Jesus said “Verily I say unto you, They have their reward” (Matthew 6:5).

What is their reward? “They do not receive their reward from God, but from men, from whom they seek their reward. They feel a certain satisfaction in publicly proclaiming their piety, and this is their reward.”7

Scripture declares: “The name of the Lord is a strong tower: the righteous runneth into it, and is safe” (Proverbs 18:10).

Whether in times of thankfulness and joy, or difficulties and perplexity, let us offer our simple, sincere prayers. “Christ will present these [prayers], mingled with the fragrance of His Spirit, to the Father. They will be wholly accepted; for if we have taken Christ to be our personal Saviour, we are born again. We are sons and daughters of God, members by adoption of the royal family.”8 “Do not spend a long time in prayer before a congregation unless you know that God is inditing the prayer. Let the prayers made in public be short and full of earnestness. The effectual, fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much; but the prayer uttered in a low, monotonous tone and spiritless manner is not accepted by God. The voice of prayer should rise to God from hearts burdened by a sense of need. Let there be a revival of the Holy Spirit, that your prayers may be filled with the power of heaven.”9 “Pray without ceasing. In everything give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you” (1 Thessalonians 5:17, 18).