1. Prayer is speaking to YHWH.
2. Through prayer, we express worship and thankfulness to YHWH.
3. Through prayer, we ask YHWH to forgive us for our sins.
4. Through prayer, we ask YHWH to help us in our needs.
5. Through prayer, we ask YHWH to give His help and forgiveness to the nation.
6. YHWH wants us to pray to Him continuously, in all things.
What is prayer?
Prayer is speaking with YHWH. Most people think of prayer as asking YHWH for something, and that is an element of praying, but prayer has (and should be used for) a much wider range of things than just asking God to give us stuff or do stuff for us.
Worshiping and Thanking YHWH
And Hannah prayed:
My heart exults in YHWH
My horn is exalted in YHWH
My mouth derides my enemies
Because I rejoice in your salvation
There is none holy like YHWH
For there is none besides you
There is no rock like our God
(1 Samuel 2:1-2)
A main component and purpose of prayer is to bless YHWH, praise Him, worship Him, and express gratitude for all He has done for us. We should pray like this with sincerity, not merely putting on airs or going through a ritualistic motion. As we spiritually mature and develop a deeper love for God, we will genuinely praise and glorify Him in our prayer and worship.
Asking YHWH to Forgive our Sins
Then YHWH appeared to Solomon in the night and said to him: “I have heard your prayer and have chosen this place for myself as a house of sacrifice. When I shut up the heavens so that there is no rain, or command the locust to devour the land, or send pestilence among my people, if my people who are called by my name humble themselves, and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and heal their land. (2 Chronicles 7:12-14)
God told us when we sin we are to humble ourselves before Him and go to Him in prayer to acknowledge our sin and ask His forgiveness. If we are faithful to humble ourselves, seek God, stop doing sinful things, and pray to Him for forgiveness then God is faithful to forgive and restore us.
We should be in the regular habit of going to God in prayer to ask His forgiveness for our sins and to restore our relationship with Him.
Praying for our needs
He was very thirsty and he called to YHWH, “You Yourself have granted this great victory through Your servant; and must I now die of thirst and fall into the hands of the uncircumcised?” So God split open the hallow which is at Lehi, and the water gushed out of it; he drank, regained his strength, and revived. (Judges 15:18-19)
YHWH knows our needs, and we are promised that if we seek YHWH’s kingdom and His righteous then he will take care of our needs (Matthew 6:25-34). We should devote our lives to seeking YHWH, loving Him, serving Him, and trusting Him. Then, as our needs arise, we can confidently go to God in prayer and ask that he help us.
Praying for our Loved Ones, the Church, and Our Nation
While I was speaking and praying, confessing my sin and the sin of my people Israel, and presenting my plea before YHWH my God for the holy hill of my God, while I was speaking in prayer, the man Gabriel, whom I had seen in the vision at the first, came to me in swift flight at the time of the evening sacrifice. (Daniel 9:20-21)
The ninth chapter of Daniel details his prayer for his own sin, the sin of the nation, and his plea that YHWH give mercy and forgiveness to all the people. Daniel demonstrates the need and the function of prayer to intercede for all God’s people. We ought to go before YHWH in prayer not only to ask for our own forgiveness and help but also on behalf of our loved ones, the church, and the nation in which we live.
Pray Continuously
Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you. (1 Thessalonians 5:16-18)
YHWH’s will for us is that we pray without ceasing, giving thanks to Him in all circumstances. Therefore, we ought to pray throughout the day, every day, all our life. Make it a habit to speak with YHWH continuously, about all things. Never stop using prayer to worship YHWH, to bless His name, to thank Him, to seek His forgiveness, to ask for His help, and to ask that He do these things for all the people around us.