14 Reasons

“Therefore, you should pray like this:
Our Father in heaven,Your name be honored as holy.
Your kingdom come.Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us today our daily bread.
And forgive us our debts,as we also have forgiven our debtors.
And do not bring us into temptation,but deliver us from the evil one.[For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.] - Matthew 6:9-13 HCSB

I don’t know about you, but sometimes... even many times... I have a hard time praying.
For one reason or another I won’t make/take the time to pray. Or I’ll get distracted in the middle of a prayer. Or my ego wont let me pray somehow convincing myself that “I’ve got it.” Or I fall asleep in the midst of prayer. Or my crazy life gets too busy to stop and pray. And my little silent prayers between songs on the car radio don’t seem fulfilling... or much of a conversation at all.

However, with all that is going on in my life and the busyness and the stresses of the day seemingly more than they were the day before, I can’t afford NOT to be praying.

In trying to motivate myself to draw near to God and pray more, and to once again make prayer a bigger part of my life, I found the following verses and reasons why we should pray:

14 Reasons
Psalm 145:18 - Praying assures us of God’s presence
Matthew 7:11 - Brings good gifts from God
Hebrews 4:16 - Bring help in times of need
John 16:24 - Brings joy
James 5:15 - Brings physical or spiritual healing
1 Timothy 4:4-5 - Acknowledges God’s ownership of creation
Jeremiah 33:3 - Brings understanding
James 5:16 - Can be powerful and effective
Proverbs 15:8-9 - Pleases God
Matthew 26:41 - Strengthens us against temptation
Psalm 28:6-7 - Shows that we trust God
Colossians 4:2-4 - Helps us advance the Gospel
1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 - We obey God
1 Peter 5:6-7 - Because we know God cares

May this help us on our journey to draw near and grow closer to the Lord.

Keep the Faith... Carpe Diem