Welcome to the Power of Prayer
Navigating the journey of prayer can be overwhelming at times, questioning where do you even start. Oftentimes, we feel nothing is coming from our prayers. This can discourage us from continuing in prayer and creates further distance from God in the process.
However, allowing ourselves to connect with God through prayer, we allow ourselves to join our mind, body, and spirit through our faith. In a study evaluating the perspective of over 2,000 adults with mental health struggles, 70% of adults found prayer to be a positive influence to their mental health.
The Lord is near to all who call on him, to all who call on him in truth. He fulfills the desires of those who fear him; he hears their cry and saves them.
Psalm 145:18-19
When we study the Word of God, we grow deeper in our faith and anchor ourselves in truth, allowing ourselves to open up to the power of prayer.
Furthermore, to dive deeper into the power of prayer and why it is viewed to be so powerful it helps to understand why believers pray. In Christianity, prayer holds profound significance for several reasons, here are a few:
- Communication with God: Prayer is a direct line of communication between believers and God. It allows individuals to express their thoughts, feelings, and desires, fostering a personal relationship with the Lord.
- Spiritual Growth: Engaging in prayer facilitates spiritual growth and closeness to God. It encourages reflection, self-examination, and an understanding of God’s Word.
- Expressing Gratitude and Praise: Prayer provides a platform to express gratitude for blessings received and to praise God for His attributes and works.
- Building Community: Praying together fosters a sense of community among believers. Prayer is common in churches, creating bonds and facilitating collective worship.
For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I with them
Matthew 18:20
How the Power of Prayer Benefits Our Mental Health
When we deepen our spiritual connection with God, God’s Word challenges us to look inward and reflect on our choices and behaviors. Overtime, it can create a calming peace within, which ultimately helps our mental health journey.
The power of prayer can transform your mental health by giving you a new lease on life. Oftentimes, we wished we had a manual for life’s challenges, and little did we know, we do have one, the Bible. Studying the Word of God will benefit your mental health by reducing anxiety, stress, depression, and more. It helps give a sense of belonging, understanding there is actually more to this world than we realize.
Following God’s Word is rewiring our mentality, for the better.
Emotional Benefits of Prayer
Giving our worries to God removes the burden from our lives. What I mean by that is, we do not have to take on the world by ourselves, it’s not our fight. When we give it up to our Lord, He will work wonders, in ways we were never able to accomplish.
We cannot be saved through our works. It is only by the belief in Jesus Christ that we may have salvation.
For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith- and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God- not by works, so that no one can boast
Ephesians 2:8-9
So by giving our worries over to God, we relieve ourselves emotionally, knowing we aren’t in this battle alone. Truly, it’s not even our battle. It’s also one that is already won. The power of prayer can set us free by releasing life’s frustrations and challenges into the hands of God.
A Variety of Prayer Methods
Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours.
Mark 11:24
There is no perfect way to pray, just make the effort and be genuine from your heart in what you are praying about.
According to the Bible, it guides you on how you can pray and what types of prayers there are. Seven styles of prayer are adoration, lament, thanksgiving, petition, deliverance, contrition, and guidance.
Let’s talk about what each prayer style entails
- Adoration: In the Old Testament, in Hebrew, the word shachah translates to worship. Worshipping in spirit and truth is desired by our God. Through adoration, we give glory to God in worship.
- Lament: Prayers expressing sorrow, pain, and regret fall under lament. The Bible is full of different examples of followers giving up their worries and pain over to God.
- Thanksgiving: Praising God and giving thanks for the interventions He has done in our lives, including, sending His only son Jesus to die on the cross for our sins. We give thanks for this miraculous sacrifice because the wages of sin is payment by death.
- Petition: This is most likely the prayer style most people would think about, as it is to ask God for something specific in their lives, for ourselves or for others.
- Deliverance: Through deliverance, we request saving for ourselves or others. Asking to deliver us from certain circumstances that are negatively impacting our lives.
- Contrition: Prayers of contrition is when we feel remorse over our sinful lifestyle and choices, asking for forgiveness from God. This is through knowing what we have done was wrong and against what God would want for us, realizing it as such, and asking for forgiveness through our prayers.
- Guidance: This prayer style may be the easiest to understand. Asking for guidance in our lives. Because God truly knows whats best for us and knows what He has in store for us, but we also have to get ready to receive such blessings.
Integrate the Power of Prayer into your Daily Life
When you pray, go in your room, shut the door and pray to your father who is in secret, and your father who sees in secret will reward you.
Matthew 6:6
You can integrate prayer into your daily life by praying in the morning before that cup of coffee, over your food before you dig in, and at night time before bed. Make it a family prayer session even!
Have you ever heard of the concept, while talking to yourself in the mirror, to speak positive affirmations to help in turning your day into a more positive one? An example could be, “It’s going to be a great day” or “You are going to do amazing things today.”
When we include daily prayers, it operates similarly in our minds, through connecting ourselves spiritually and rewires our mind.
Start Your Transformation with Prayer
With this in mind, you can help transform your mental health through the power of prayer and see the changes in your life unfold. It doesn’t always happen overnight, but making the daily effort and learning to connect to God, will allow you to start walking in the ways of God, how He intended us to be.
Thanksgiving and Prayer: For this reason, ever since I heard about your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for all God’s people, I have not stopped giving thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers. I keep asking that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation, so you may know him better. I pray the the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in his holy people, and his incomparably great power for us who believe.
Ephesians 1:15-19
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