30 Day Prayer ChallengeSample

DAY 1: THE PURPOSE OF PRAYER

At its core, Christianity is all about the relationship between God and those whom He created. But because God is spirit in nature, we can't relate to Him as we would a friend whom we can see and hear and meet for coffee on a Tuesday afternoon. No, the way we commune with God - the vehicle for fellowship with Him - is prayer.

In the same way you would foster a relationship with another human through quality time and communication, you can strengthen your relationship with God by communicating frequently with Him through prayer. You can learn of God's character through prayer. You can learn of His preferences, His plans for your life, and His activity in the world by prayer. And it is by prayer that you can play a role in His ushering heaven down to earth.

Too often we view prayer as transactional - we pray only when we need God's help with a specific problem. For example, a loved one becomes ill or we run into financial trouble so we call out to God to help us in that specific situation. While God certainly hears these requests, His deepest desire is to have ongoing fellowship with us through prayer.

The essence of prayer is a loop in which our heavenly Father, by His Spirit, places requests and petitions on our hearts, only for us to offer them back to Him. What begins in heaven returns to heaven, via the mysterious power of prayer. In this way, prayer is not working to change our Father's mind; it is instead finding the mind of God.

Set aside a specific time to pray today. Perhaps your first prayer could be, "Lord, I ask for Your help and Your divine power to assist me in faithfully and consistently praying over the next 30 days.

Listen to prayer

For additional resources from Dr. Jack Graham visit www.jackgraham.org

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