Again, in this land of fads and crazes, we love results now! That’s why so many diet plans fail; we want the results here and now. As we talked about in our last article, these feelings and desires of quick fixes sometimes carry over into our ideas of religion.

Because of these ideas of instant results, many people seem to think that once a person becomes born again and a new creature in Christ; once they become a Christian, their lives will suddenly change without any effort on their part. This couldn’t be further from the truth. The life of a Christian takes hard work to cultivate and grow. It’s not a matter of coming up out of the water of rebirth and instantly you are a mature Christian. It takes time, effort, endurance, and fervent prayer to grow and mature as a child of God, and with God’s help and your effort, you can grow. Let us look at another factor to our guaranteed growth as a child of God.

The other factor that I am speaking of is prayer. James says, “Confess your faults one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed. The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much.” (James 5:16 ) Prayer is a powerful tool that we can implore in our lives as Christians. It is a tool of growth. You use it to grow and you use it better when you grow.

However, many times we fail to recognize the power that is in prayer. Peter in his first epistle says, “For the eyes of the Lord are over the righteous, and his ears are open unto their prayers: but the face of the Lord is against them that do evil.” (1 Pet 3:12 ) If you are a child of God, you have the power of prayer. God’s ears are open unto your prayers! He will hear them. Paul says that since we have an intercessor such as Jesus Christ, “Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need.” (Heb 4:16 ) This is a great illustration of our ability to go to God in prayer. We can go up to the throne of God. We can lift up our request to the King and boldly, without fear, with all confidence.

Paul tells us that we must pray without ceasing. (1 Thess 5:17) I can remember when I was a child how I thought it odd that one would be in a bowing position, with hands folded, without stopping. Of course, this is not what Paul meant. He meant that we need to always have a prayerful mind. We need to program ourselves to count on God first and foremost and call on His name first. For example, when this economy started dropping, did you first call your broker, or did you go to God in prayer? If you have ever lost your job, did you start to worry about making ends meet first and foremost, or did you first and foremost go to God in prayer? Prayer is our “help in time of need!” (Heb 4:16 )

Not only do we need to have prayerful mind, we need to set aside time every day to go to God in prayer. We can read examples of devout men of God that would go to God in prayer regularly and consistently. David, a man after God’s own heart, said, “As for me, I will call upon God; and the LORD shall save me. Evening, and morning, and at noon, will I pray, and cry aloud: and he shall hear my voice.” (Ps 55:16-17)

It is said that Daniel “knew that the writing was signed (talking about the decree of the king), he went into his house; and his windows being open in his chamber toward Jerusalem, he kneeled upon his knees three times a day, and prayed, and gave thanks before his God, as he did aforetime.” (Dan 6:10 ) Daniel understood the importance of prayer in his life.

Jesus did too. You can read on more than one occasion where He went by himself and found a place of solitude to pray for solace. (Mark 1:35 ; Luke 6:12 )

What a great tool God has given us. Let us all grow in our use of it and let us let it help us grow as children of God. Unfortunately, if you are not a child of God, you do not have this tool of prayer. Isaiah tells us that it is not that God can not hear, by physical limitations, the sinner, “but your iniquities have separated between you and your God, and your sins have hid his face from you, that he will not hear.” (Isa 59:2 ) Become a Christian today by being obedient to the gospel of Christ and utilize the tool of prayer!