Dallas Willard defines prayer as, “conversing and communicating with God.” Simply put, when we engage in prayer, we talk with God, whether that is out loud or in our thoughts. Prayer is a way of communication with God as we co-labor with Him to advance His Kingdom purposes. John Onwuchekwa says, “Prayer is oxygen for the Christian; it’s about experiencing the power of the One to whom we pray. It’s about the great expectations that grow in us when we have a genuine experience of the God who hears and answers.”

Gary Millar says, “Prayer is calling on God to come through on His promise.” Calling on God is not so much about calling on His name as it is calling on His nature. To call on God’s name is to appeal to His character! It is to call on Him to come through on His promise according to His character and His will (1 Jn 5:14). We see bold prayers throughout Scripture (Gen 4:26; Num 14:13-19; Joshua 7:7-9; 1 Samuel 1:11; 2 Samuel 7:23-26; 2 Kings 19:14-19; Nehemiah 1:5-11; Daniel 9:4-19; Psalm 119:49; Acts 4:24-30, 9:36-41, 12:5-12, 28:8; Eph 3:12). John Calvin says, “Prayer in the Bible is intimately linked with the gospel- God’s promised and provided solution to the problem of human rebellion against Him and its consequences.” Prayer, then, is linked to the hope of redemption, and we see this in Jesus’s own words when the disciples ask Him how to pray, responding with, “Pray then like this: ‘Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name. Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven’” (Matt 6:9-10).

Prayer provides the hope that we need to persevere in the promise that God has made and that He will always make good on His promises (1 Tim 4:10; Titus 1:1-2, 2:11-14, 3:4-7). If prayer is linked to the gospel, then prayer should reflect our unity in Christ, and must be shaped in community. Jesus often invited other people into His prayers (Matt 6:5-15, 26:36; Jn 6:10-11, 11:41-44), as should we, because we are all the family of God, and God is not just “My Father”, but “Our Father” (Matt 6:9).

Prayer then acts as a collective spiritual discipline because it reminds us of how we are personally responsible for others, which means prayer is not an individualistic pursuit as we are one body-many members (1 Cor 12:27; Matt 26:41). But even individually speaking, prayer does have a pervasive and spiritual strengthening effect on all aspects of our life. In this way, prayer transforms us into the person and likeness of Christ. Prayer also demonstrates the power of the gospel and God’s Kingdom that what we are asking, He delights in giving (Luke 11:9-13).

But prayer does not come naturally to us, we need to be taught and grow in practicing it as a discipline or rhythm. If we want to see ourselves and church grow in faithfulness to God, then we must pray fully dependent on God.

The more we pray, the more we think to pray and the more we witness the fruit of prayer in our life and how God responds to our prayers, our confidence in God’s power, character and will, pours over into all areas of our life. That means that we can discipline ourselves in prayer to be more aware of God’s presence in every action or place that we are in. Dallas Willard says, “habit will be confirmed in gracious interaction, and our whole lives will be bathed in the presence of God…but prayer will not be established in our lives as it must be for us to flourish, unless we are practicing other disciplines such as solitude and fasting with it.”

We pray for faith, healing and miracles (Mark 1:40; Acts 4:29-30, 12:5-12, 28:8), for salvation and deliverance (Acts 7:59-60, 16:25-34; Romans 10:1; Luke 23:34, 42). We pray God’s Word (the Psalms, the Lord’s Prayer, Acts 4:24-30), we pray boldly (Daniel 9:17-19), for one-another (Acts 2:42; Gal 6:2; James 5:16), for the lost and for the mission (Matthew 9:35-38, 28:18-20), and we pray continually (1 Thessalonians 5:17; Romans 12:12; Ephesians 6:18).

Here are a few ways to practice praying together: collective gatherings of prayer each week at church, small groups, prayer partners (1-1), prayer walks (through neighborhoods, schools, communities etc), journaling a list of people’s names, places, or unreached people groups.

ACTS Model of Prayer: Adoration, Confession, Thanksgiving, Supplication.

• Adoration: A prayer of praise, honor, and proclamation of God’s character, attributes, and promises, that are not just general, but specific to who He is. (Example: Psalm 90).
• Confession: A prayer that follows adoration, where we are led to reflect on who we are in light of who God is. As we reflect on God’s holiness, grace and forgiveness through Christ, our sinfulness becomes apparent and we are led to confession, but also the joy of repentance, forgiveness, and peace through Christ. (Example: Romans 2:4; Psalm 32 & 51). And this hopefully compels us to help others experience God’s forgiveness and love as well (Ps 34:8).
• Thanksgiving: A prayer that follows confession, where God’s grace and provision for us redirects our hearts to gratitude, joy and humility. We are reminded of God’s mercy towards us, and it’s all thanks to God! (Example: 2 Cor 6:4-10; Psalm 9; Psalm 147).
• Supplication: A prayer that follows thanksgiving, that allows us to unburden ourselves to God (Example: Philippians 4:6; Psalm 5:3, Ps 27:8, Ps 145:18; Lamentations 3). We can confidently present our requests to God, praying that He will intercede for us according to His will (1 John 5:14-15).