“If My people who are called by My name will humble themselves, and pray and seek My face…”— ‭‭II Chronicles‬ ‭7‬:‭14‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

Praying is an act of humility, it shows that you admit you can not do life without God. Prayer is not just a religious act but a necessity for survival. Just like man needs food, water and air, he needs to pray also. Jesus put that in simple terms, “men ought to pray always…” Also in the sermon on the Mount He stated “when you pray…” not “if you pray…” Jesus addressed prayer as a must, not conditional, He expects us to pray. Prayer is designed to keep God in the affairs of man, we are made to depend on Him always. It is the channel that conducts life from the divine into man. As man communes with God, there is a flow of essence from God to him and that flow of life nourishes him and fuels the God nature in him for dominion on Earth. There is no controversy that a life on earth without God in it is dead and dying. When man refuses to pray, he declares independence from God to fend for himself—that is one of the highest expressions of pride. The opposite, therefore, is an expression of humility.

In the focal text, Solomon hinted in his prayer that humility is the heart posture and condition that drives men to pray. The people of God refuse to pray out of pride but whenever they humble themselves, they will pray. In prayer, you acknowledge and communicate your downs, sorrows, weaknesses, and even your sins to God. You strip yourself completely naked before the Lord with nothing to hide. It’s expedient that one approaches God in prayer in plainness: no coded language but the narration of exactly what is happening in his life, be it good or bad. This is fellowship, when you pour out yourself onto God as He also pours out Himself into you with peace, joy, strength, and solutions to your woes.

Jesus, our pattern man, lived a life of prayer as proof of His total dependence on the Father even though He is God Himself. Jesus is the embodiment of humility, He did not only go to God in hard times or good times only but all times. Scripture says “Now in the morning, having risen a long while before daylight, He (Jesus) went out and departed to a solitary place; and there He prayed.” Mark‬ ‭1‬:‭35‬. He prayed so much that His disciples asked that He teach them how to pray. God in the nature of man prayed, not because He was less powerful but because He was humble. “During the days of Jesus’ life on earth, he offered up prayers and petitions with fervent cries and tears to the one who could save him from death, and he was heard because of his reverent submission.” Hebrews‬ ‭5‬:‭7‬. We also need to cultivate this mind of Christ and approach our Heavenly Father at all times in prayer

Prayer is our declaration of dependence on God for life and a show of humility. Refusal to pray, therefore, is the expression of pride and independence from God.

Further Reading: Matthew 6:9-14; Philippians 2:5-8; John 17