Introduction
Prayer is more than a religious habit; it is a direct channel of communication with God. At various times in life, we need to turn to Him, whether in times of difficulty, important decisions, or even to express gratitude. In the Bible, we find examples that show us “Situations in Which We Should Pray” and how this practice can strengthen our faith and guide us through challenges. In this article, I want to explore these situations and reflect on the importance of prayer in each of them.
Praying is Good!
God is good! Despite our sinful state, the Lord has never rejected us! He loves us and allows us to speak and converse with Him every day. Christ gives us the opportunity to raise our voices before Him, because through His death on the Cross of Calvary, He became our mediator and gave us access to the Father again.
Today, we have the privilege of being able to converse with the Creator of the universe. Unfortunately, because of sin, there are still restrictions that prevent us from seeing Him physically or even hearing His voice audibly. As long as we live in this body degraded by sin, the glory of the Holy God will be too intense for us to bear, whether in sight or sound. But even so, He has His ears open to hear us, and His eyes open to see us every day.
The Bible presents us with some examples and situations in which we should pray to the Lord. In today’s study, I want to present some biblical texts about these examples and situations in which we should pray to the Lord.
Situation: Facing life’s difficulties
Daniel 2:16-18 – “Then Daniel went in and asked the king to give him time, that he might give him the interpretation. Then Daniel went home and told Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah, his companions, that they might ask mercy of the God of heaven concerning this mystery, so that Daniel and his companions would not perish with the rest of the wise men of Babylon“
The book of the prophet Daniel tells the story of when they were taken captive to the kingdom of Babylon. In chapter 2 of his book, he narrates a situation in which they faced a death threat due to a decree from the king of Babylon. Without going into the details of the story, Daniel reports that, in the face of this problem, he went to his house and asked his companions to pray to the God of Heaven for help. The story continues and shows us that God answered their prayers and helped them with the problem they were going through.
This story teaches us some important lessons. The first is that we should always remember God in our problems. Upon learning of his death sentence, Daniel did not run to beg the king or any other person in authority within the kingdom for help. He did not even try to make plans to escape this sentence. The first thing he did was tell his companions to join in prayer to God and ask for help.
The second lesson this story teaches us is precisely the fact that Daniel asked his companions to join in prayer. He did not consider himself self-sufficient to make a request to God. He recognized his need and saw the importance of having other people join in prayer for this problem. He called all his closest companions together to pray to the Lord. This teaches us that we should always involve others in praying together for a cause.
Situation: Before making decisions
Luke 6:12-13 – “And it came to pass in those days, that he went out into a mountain to pray, and continued all night in prayer to God. And when it was day, he called unto him his disciples, and of them he chose twelve, whom also he named apostles“
When Jesus was on this earth, he was in human form. He was a human being like you and me. His divine nature was clothed in human nature. At no time did he use any divine attributes that he had before his incarnation.
At the beginning of his ministry, Jesus already had many disciples who followed him. He called some of them, but others followed him on their own. At one point, Jesus had to choose 12 people who would be his closest disciples. He did not make this decision randomly. The biblical account shows us that he spent the whole night in prayer to God, and only after that did he choose the 12 disciples.
The lesson we learn from this text is that we should always involve God in the important issues and decisions we need to make in our daily lives. It doesn’t matter what we are dealing with-it could be in a religious environment, family, work, or any other daily situation. Jesus teaches us to set aside time and pray to God for wisdom in the choices and decisions we must make.
Situation: For the afflicted
James 5:13 – “Is any among you troubled ? Let him pray. Is any happy? Let him sing praises“
The apostle James instructs us to pray for all those who are afflicted or going through some problem. We face afflictions constantly in our lives here on earth. There are countless causes, many of which can be related to health, work, personal issues, religious matters, etc. No matter what it is, we should always pray that God will give us strength to overcome these afflictions. God does not promise that we will not go through afflictions, but He encourages us to pray for one another, seeking help and divine relief.
Situation: For the sick
James 5:14-16 – “Is anyone among you sick ? Let him call for the elders of the church, and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord. The prayer of faith will save the sick person, and the Lord will raise him up. If he has committed sins, they will be forgiven. Confess your sins one to another, and pray one for another, that you may be healed. The effective fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much“
Disease is a common reality in our lives, especially as we age, when our bodies become more vulnerable. A variety of factors can cause illness, from poor lifestyle habits and exposure to harmful substances to genetics and environmental factors. We often don’t fully understand the causes, but we do know that poor health is an inevitable part of the human experience.
When faced with illness, the Bible teaches us to pray for the sick, but this does not mean that healing will always occur immediately or in the way we expect. God can intervene and restore health, but in some cases, His purpose may be different, such as strengthening our faith in the midst of difficulties. Even when healing does not occur in this life, those who remain faithful to God will receive definitive healing in the resurrection when He will grant them a new body, free from disease.
Situation: Before meals
John 6:10-11 – “And Jesus said, Make the men sit down. And there was much grass in that place. So the men sat down, in number about five thousand. And Jesus took the loaves, and when he had given thanks, he distributed them to the disciples, and the disciples to those who were sitting down; and likewise of the fish, as much as they wanted“
Jesus gives us the example of always giving thanks for the food we eat. In this case, we should not say a long prayer, but rather a short prayer of thanks for the food before consuming it. Through this simple prayer, we show gratitude and recognition to the Creator God. It is He who sustains us each day. It is He who blesses our land so that food is produced and served as our nourishment. This lesson is always reinforced every time we pray to God, thanking Him for the food we will consume. In the same way, it serves as a testimony to those around us that we recognize God as our benefactor and sustainer.
Situation: To avoid temptation
Matthew 26:41 – “Watch and pray, so that you will not enter into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak“
In the last moments of Christ, even before being betrayed and crucified, Jesus already knew what He was going to go through. He also knew that the path He had to take would not be easy, and He certainly needed divine help. Just like Daniel, Jesus asked His disciples to spend that night praying to God and to give Him strength for the difficult time they were about to face. The disciples still did not understand what the Messiah would have to go through. That night, they did not accompany Jesus in prayer and ended up falling asleep. But Jesus spent the whole night in prayer, asking for strength from heaven so that He would not give in to temptation and could carry out the plan of redemption.
This teaches us a great lesson. The Son of God Himself demonstrated the great need for us to cling to God and ask for divine strength so that we do not fall into temptation. How much more should this be true in our lives? We need to recognize that we are weak and need divine help. We should always pray, asking God to give us strength and help us in the battle against our flesh. We are always tempted, and in order not to fall into temptation, we need to depend on God.
Situation: When everything is fine
1 Thessalonians 1:2-3 – “We always thank God for all of you, mentioning you in our prayers, continually remembering your work of faith, labor of love, and patience of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ, before our God and Father“
Finally, the apostle Paul recommends that we always give thanks to God. There are countless reasons why we should pray to God. Even when everything is going well, we should pray to the Lord to thank Him. This helps us to be closer to Him. It continues to reinforce our need to depend on the Lord, as well as bringing us closer to Him.
Praying to God is not only for when we are going through problems. It is also an opportunity to talk to the Sovereign God of the Universe. Even when everything is going well, we should give thanks to the Lord and also ask that He continue to maintain the faith of all of us.
Always remember to maintain communion with God and pray to Him every day. Prayer is food for the soul, just as bread is for our body. Don’t forget to pray!
May God bless us!
