"We all come to prayer with a tangled mass of motives -- altruistic and selfish, merciful and hateful, loving and bitter. Frankly, this side of eternity we will never unravel the good from the bad, the loving and the bitter. But what I have come to see is that God is big enough to receive us with all our mixture. We do not have to be bright, or pure, or filled with faith, or anything. That is what grace means, and not only are we saved by grace, we live by it as well. And we pray by it........
We will never have pure enough motives, or be good enough, or know enough in order to pray rightly. We simply must set all these things aside and begin praying. In fact, it is in the very act of prayer itself -- the intimate, ongoing interaction with God -- that these matters are cared for in due time." (Richard Foster: Prayer)

Second, prayer is being open to faith not fear (Ephesians 3:20).

"The resistance to praying is like the resistance of tightly clenched fists. This image shows the tension, the desire to cling tightly to yourself, a greediness which betrays fear.... When you dare to let go and surrender one of those many fears, your hand relaxes and your palms spread out in a gesture of receiving. You must have patience, of course, before your hands are completely open and their muscles relaxed......
Then you feel a bit of new freedom, and praying becomes a joy, a spontaneous reaction to the world and the people around you. Praying becomes effortless, inspired, and lively or peaceful and quiet. Then you recognize the festive and the modest as moments of prayer. You begin to suspect that to pray is to live." (Henri Nouwen: Springs of Hope)

Third, prayer is a matter of the will (Matthew 6:6).

"Jesus did not say -- Dream about your Father in secret, but pray to your Father in secret. Prayer is an effort of will. After we have entered the secret place and have shut the door, the most difficult thing to do is to pray; we cannot get our minds in working order, and the first thing that conflicts is wandering thoughts. The great battle in private prayer is the overcoming of mental wool-gathering. We have to discipline our minds and concentrate on willful prayer." (Oswald Chambers: My Utmost For His Highest)

Four, prayer is the way to finding wisdom (James 1:5).

"Wisdom can only be sought and individuals can only come to know themselves if they are willing to provide themselves with the space to quieten the rush of activity in their lives and the even greater rush of mental activity in their heads. This entails a commitment to take time out of busy-ness, yet this is something most people are trained at an early age not to do. They are educated into seeing success and achievement solely in terms of outcomes and tasks accomplished, and the task of working on themselves to develop their self is considered of no importance and no account.... In the Christian tradition, wisdom is seen as coming through prayer." (Peter Vardy, Being Human)

Five, prayer was normal to Jesus and to all the people of God (Mark 1:35).

Christian disciples are called to follow Jesus, and to become like him. He found it necessary to pray: "Very early in the morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house and went off to a solitary place, where he prayed" .He prayed before making important decisions (Luke 6:12). He prayed for Peter (Luke 22:32). He prayed for us and for our unity (John 17:20). He prayed when facing suffering (Matthew 26:39). He prayed before he died on the Cross (Luke 23:34). He expected his disciples (followers) to pray: "When you pray, say: Our Father..." (Luke 11:2-4).

The people of God prayed: Moses, Hannah, David, Solomon, Jeremiah, Daniel, Stephen, Paul. James said to pray when you are in trouble, when you are happy and for the sick (James 5:13-18). Paul said to "pray all the time" (1 Thessalonians 5:17), and "pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests." (Ephesians 6:18)

Six, prayer is necessary for friendship with God (John 15:15).

If we want to develop a close relationship with a friend we will need to communicate with one another. Friendship requires conversation. God speaks to us through the Scriptures, and we speak with him in prayer. Jesus said, "I have called you friends." (John 15:15) Friendship with God is a tremendous privilege which needs to be maintained on a daily basis. Jesus came to share with us life in all its fullness (John 10:10). Communion with God is necessary for us to experience that fullness, wholeness and peace. "Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus." (Philippians 4:6,7)

Seven, the danger of neglecting prayer (Isaiah 55:6).

"There are two things which will ever bring the Christian to the throne of grace: - a sense of his own wants; and a desire to enjoy the presence of God. Yet there are many who have neglected prayer. Such persons will often be dissatisfied, complaining of others; and though in the midst, perhaps, of abundance of earthly good things, yet, would they declare their real state, they would be found discontented and unhappy. And is this to be wondered at? God is your Creator. He is the Governor of the Universe. He makes men happy; when he leaves them they are miserable; and you neglect to seek him. You do not pursue his plans. You do not follow the directions which he has given you for obtaining his blessings, and therefore you have them not. But can you think that you will always have an opportunity of seeking him? O no! remember, that there is an accepted time, a day of salvation, and that it is our highest duty and our plainest interest, to seek the Lord, while he may be found, and call upon him while he is near. But, perhaps, you defer seeking God to the close of life, or to a period of sickness. O most dangerous delusion! To be careful about the temporal enjoyment of a day, and to suspend eternal happiness on the most probable of all chances! It is almost certain that if you do from day to day put off the duty of prayer, deceiving yourself with the intention of calling upon God in such a period, God will not, in that day, give you either grace or ability to pray to him. You will perish in your sins."
(Edward Bickersteth: A Treatise on Prayer, 1819)

Remember, Jesus warned the disciples: "Pray that you will not fall into temptation."
Prayer is as necessary to me each day as sleep and nourishment and exercise is to my body. Prayer is as necessary to me as conversation is to earthly relationships. What is your incentive to pray?

Ted's blog is found at www.tedschroder.com)