What Is Prayer?

Prayer is the recognition that if God had not engaged Himself in our problems, we would still be lost in the blackness. Prayer is that whole process that reminds us of who God is and who we are.

The key element in prayer is not the amount of faith, but whether faith is present at all. Think on this: it is not how much we understand about Jesus that saves us, but the mere fact that we trust in Him to do so. Thus salvation is a product of faith and the seed of faith appears to reside in the individual upon salvation. Also, the amount of faith does not cause a miracle (a gift from God) to occur, but the presence of faith is that quality which leads to prayer being answered.

Remember: faith itself is a gift of God – even faith is not a work out of ourselves. Our only action is to respond appropriately to the faith in our hearts. Therefore we should not get worried about whether we have ‘enough’ faith or not. What Christians are called to do is to look into the face of the Father and pray what they do have faith for. If they lack faith, they should honestly pray, “Help my unbelief.”

“If faith is present at all, even if it is no larger than a mustard seed, it can accomplish wonders.” This is how Jesus describes the incalculable effects of prevailing faith.

Prayer isn’t about expecting something specific from the Lord, but of releasing something to Him that was already out of your control anyway.