Slideshow image

Pray Continually
- 1 Thessalonians 5:17

Taber Evangelical Free Chruch values prayer.

Prayer is valued because it is the practice of communicating to and connecting with God.  Prayer is vitally important because if it's effect on our discipleship in Christ.

Praying to Connect with God
In prayer, we deliberately enter into fellowship and communion with God, addressing him as our Lord and our Father.  As Lord, we recognize the transcendence of God, that he is not sitting at the table with us to chat. Instead, he transcends creation because he made it and is sovereign over it.  Praying to God stretches us beyond ourselves to connect with a God who is wholly different from our nature and character.

However, we also pray to God as our Father. A heavenly Father who meets us intimately and closely in the details of our lives. A Father who is interested and involved.  Praying to God is an exercise of awareness to see how our father is closely drawing near, inviting us to know him closely.

Praying to Demonstrate Faith
When we pray, we show our faith in God.  In prayer, we bow our heads, close our eyes, and speak to a God who we do not see and who we do not feel tangibly. Prayer is an expression of faith. The Scriptures attest to the importance of faith in knowing God. The book of Hebrews tells us that, "without faith it is impossible to please [God] because whoever will draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him" (Hebrews 11:6). There are many ways that we show our faith, but none quite as obviously or clearly as the practice of prayer.

What is more, when we present our hearts and requests to God in prayer, we have a desire to see those requests come to pass. We show our faith in God to accomplish both his will, but also our desires. Prayer lays these desires before God in faith, trusting in his wisdom and sovereignty for our lives.

Praying to Expresses Obedience
Through the action of prayer, we obey the commands of Scripture to call out to God and to raise our requests and hearts to him.  We follow the example of Jesus as he spent considerable time in prayer to his Father (see John 17).  We live out the teaching of Jesus as he instructs his own disciples to pray (see Matthew 6 and Luke 11). A Christian shows his or her obedience to seek after God in the posture of prayer.

These are some reasons why we value prayer as a church.  We encourage our Lifegroups to remain in prayer with each other and for all of us to share our requests and needs for prayer.  If you feel that you need someone to pray with or to talk with someout about ways to foster a more deliberate prayer life, please contact the church and one of our pastors will be happy to talk more with you about this important practice.