What is Prayer?

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       What is prayer? Prayer isn't about us and what we get out of it or even about helping others. I've heard many times from people that you should try to pray less for yourself and more for others. So is that what prayer is about? 
        Let's pretend that you're a man named Billy and you live in a kingdom with a king who is willing to meet with you at any time. You go see him maybe once or twice a day. When you go, you say "Hey, how's it going?" no pause "So I have some issues, my wife's sick, one of my cows are lost, and my kids won't behave. Also my friend Joe has some financial troubles. So if you would help us out, that would be awesome. So thanks, bye, see you later, and you're pretty cool I guess."
        Let's be honest. In this scenario, when you're in and out in less than three minutes, you don't really care about the king at all. It's all about you and 'Joe' and what the king can do for you. If you cared about the king, wouldn't it look different? Maybe you would come see the king for more than a couple minutes, not just asking favours, but making an effort to know him, learn from him, and talk about life with him. Yes, the struggles of you and Joe would be included, but perhaps not your main focus. 
        Sometimes we have a tendency to approach God as Billy did, not caring to get to know Him and learn from Him, just from selfish desire and unselfish desires for Joe. We make it about us, not about Him. While prayer does benefit us, it isn't about the tangible rewards we get, it's about deepening our relationship with an almighty God who loves us and gave Himself for us. 


"In prayer, it is better to have heart without words than words without a heart." ~John Bunyan

 

"If you only pray when you're in trouble, you're in trouble." ~Unknown

 

"To be a Christian without prayer is no more possible than to be alive without breathing." ~Martin Luther

 

"If you want that splendid power in prayer, you must remain in loving, living, lasting, conscious, practical, abiding union with the Lord Jesus Christ," ~C.H. Spurgeon

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