Prayer Is The Key (Part 5)

In 2008 ninety percent of U.S. adults say they pray -- more than half say it's once a day or more -- in times of economic distress or plenty, researchers said.

Lead author Wendy Cadge, a sociologist at Brandeis University in Waltham, Mass., found that the prayers fell into one of three categories -- about 28 percent of prayers were requests of God, 28 percent were prayers to both thank and petition God, while another 22 percent of the prayers just thanked God.

Some say they are sure God exists and others pray simply to cover the bases. Some pray for big things -- to stay healthy, keep employed and to strengthen relationships -- but some pray to find parking spaces and missing items.

The study, published in Poetics, analyzed 683 prayers written in a public prayer book placed in the rotunda of the Johns Hopkins University Hospital in Baltimore from 1999 to 2005.

The study found that prayer writers seek general strength, support and blessing from their prayers, rather than explicit solutions to life's difficult situations.

"If researchers studying religion and health take seriously even the possibility that prayer may influence health, they need to learn more about what people pray for, how they pray, and what they hope will result from their prayers," Cadge said in a statement.

Why Should We Pray – To whom do we pray?
Before we can answer, “why should we pray,” we must know to whom we pray. There is only one supreme Creator and sovereign God. There is only one way to Him and that is through His only- Son, Jesus Christ. God, our Heavenly Father, is the only one we can be assured of who hears and answers our prayers. He is the God of amazing love, mercy, and forgiveness.

-By Him, all things are possible. Jesus says in Mark 10:27, "Humanly speaking, it is impossible. But not with God. Everything is possible with God."

-Daniel 9:18 tells us: “We do not ask because we deserve help, but because you are so merciful.” (Mercy means showing favor, compassion, and kindness.)

-God’s ultimate demonstration of love is forgiveness of the sins each of us have committed. “For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life. God did not send his Son into the world to condemn it, but to save it” (John 3:16-17).

He is the only God who has done this, and is the only God able to do so. But His enemy, Satan, has sent many false gods to deceive mankind. Do not be deceived nor allow anything or anyone to take priority over the only true and living God.


Prayer is the key to the heart of God. Prayer is the only way to a real and personal relationship with God.

-Pray acknowledging He is God, and that you accept His gracious gift, Jesus Christ, as your Lord and Savior (Genesis 17:1, Romans 6:16-18).

-Pray confessing our sins and accepting His forgiveness (Romans 3:23-26).

-Pray that His will be done in our lives, that His Holy Spirit guide us, and that we be filled with the fullness of all God has for us.

-Pray for (spiritual) understanding and wisdom (Proverbs 2:6-8, 3:5).

-Pray with thanksgiving for all the ways He blesses us (Philippians 4:6).

-Pray when we are ill, lonely, going through trials or interceding for others (James 5:14-16, 2 Corinthians 12:9-10).

Pray to worship Him (Psalm 95:6-7).

There is nothing we can’t pray about. There are abundant references to prayer in the Bible. The Bible tells us to “pray without ceasing” and “in everything give thanks to the Lord.” When we choose to have a positive attitude, we realize we have received many blessings for which to give God praise.

We find intimacy with God through communicating with Him in prayer. We go to Him in faith, knowing that He hears and answers all our prayers (1 John 5:14). Be confident that God knows and wants what is best for us; so ask that His will be done in all we seek from Him. Then, thank Him for it, even though it hasn’t happened yet.


Jesus gave his disciples, what we call, “The Lord’s Prayer” (Matthew 6) as a model.

In addition, Hebrews 4:14-16 tells us we can pray boldly -- “That is why we have a great High Priest who has gone to heaven, Jesus the Son of God. Let us cling to him and never stop trusting him. This High Priest of ours understands our weaknesses, for he faced all of the same temptations we do, yet he did not sin. So let us come boldly to the throne of our gracious God. There we will receive his mercy, and we will find grace to help us when we need it.”

Above all, pray with sincerity, honor, and humbleness before the Almighty God. “The earnest prayer of a righteous person has great power and wonderful results” (James 5:16).