Imagine receiving a formal appointment to meet a great king. You might prepare carefully: dress differently, rehearse what you want to say, steady your nerves and be ready to make the most of the opportunity. Access to royalty is normally a rare and precious thing, tightly controlled, and for many a once-in-a-lifetime experience.
Thankfully, the Christian lives with an amazing truth: the King of the universe grants us instant, unhindered access: any hour, any place, anything we need. There are no security checkpoints and no waiting list. There are no special credentials required other than a willing heart and a humble spirit. Prayer is not just a religious activity; it is a staggering privilege of incredible value.
Prayer is mentioned more than a thousand times throughout the Bible. It is one of the clearest commands given to believers. We can read about prayer woven into worship, people’s daily habits, and every season of life. Realizing the great blessing and privilege of prayer is important, but prayer also shows us who God is and how we should completely rely on Him.
If anyone could have lived without prayer, it was Jesus. Yet the New Testament shows Him constantly praying to His Father and we have more than thirty examples to read about. Jesus taught His disciples to pray on more than one occasion: in the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 6), and again when specifically asked to teach them how to pray (Luke 11). Jesus prayed at His baptism, before choosing the apostles, before raising Lazarus from death, before walking on water, in Gethsemane, and even from the cross. The Son of God lived a life anchored in prayer, and as Christians we should imitate Him and do the same (1 Corinthians 11:1).
The early church understood this. They were taught to “pray always” (Ephesians 6:18), to “continue earnestly in prayer” (Colossians 4:2), and to “pray without ceasing” (1 Thessalonians 5:17). Prayer was not presented as optional, it was and still is essential to being a Christian. We should understand this as direction, or a command from God we need to follow.
Many teachers and students of the Bible have discovered and emphasized the amazing blessings of prayer, but perhaps without fully grasping the central truth behind this gift.
From the beginning, God has called His people to trust Him fully. There are so many examples of this in the Bible that we could not possibly cover them in a single article, but we will look at two to emphasize the point. In Jeremiah 2:13, God rebuked Israel for committing two evils: abandoning Him (the “fountain of living waters”), and digging broken cisterns of their own making. Their sin was not merely disobedience to what God wanted, it was also self‑reliance.
The New Testament echoes this theme. Peter urges believers to humble themselves under God’s mighty hand and to cast all their anxieties on Him, “because He cares for you” (1 Peter 5:6–7). Failing to rely on God is not only unwise, but also a form of pride and lack of humility.
Every sin we commit, every spiritual struggle we have, every over-anxious moment can be traced back to this root: we stop trusting completely in God and start relying on ourselves. Prayer is God’s remedy. It is the act of surrendering our strength, our wisdom, our plans, and our fears to the One who already knows what we need. And, He really does know what we need.
Scripture gives us a long list of blessings God grants the Christian through prayer.
God’s word teaches that through prayer we can receive forgiveness from sin, strength to do what is right, opportunities to share the gospel, boldness to teach the truth, wisdom in abundance, relief from suffering, healing, help for our rulers, and most importantly grace and mercy to help us in our time of need. Through prayer, we can be granted peace beyond understanding.
These blessings are real, powerful, and necessary in the Christian’s pilgrimage of living on this earth and doing God’s will in His kingdom. They are available to every believer, at any moment and without delay.
While powerful all by themselves, these blessings of prayer also point to something even deeper.
Philippians 4:6–7 reminds us that anxiety grows where prayer is absent. But true peace, God’s peace, guards the hearts of those who bring everything to Him.
So, pause for a moment. Think of the greatest challenge you are facing right now. What would change if you brought it fully, honestly, and repeatedly to God? What would change if you stopped carrying it alone? If something just isn’t getting better, consider whether you have been completely relying upon God and His will instead of our own understanding, and then ask yourself if whatever is challenging you is something God wants for you in the first place.
Complete reliance on God means aligning every thought, decision, and desire with His will, and not inventing new paths of our own making. It means trusting that the King who invites us into His presence through Jesus, is the same King who sustains us in our daily walk.
Prayer is not only a powerful privilege, but also the pathway to true dedication and dependence upon our Maker.
The King is calling, and listening. Let us renew our efforts to rely upon God fully, and put Him before self.
Jeff Mullen
Blanco Hills Church
blancohillschurch.com
830-554-0701