A characteristic of the Christian relationship is our ability to have communication with God the Father when we pray. We have this ability because of Jesus' sacrifice on the cross (which covers the believer's sins and makes a way for us to approach the throne of God with Jesus Christ as our advocate). But just like any other relationship, it does not grow unless communication is practiced regularly. Imagine how far a relationship would have grown apart with your significant other if you had not communicated every day. Besides this important reason why Christians need to pray, there are more examples below.
God specifically tells us as Christians to pray. So, prayer is a matter of obedience to the will of our Father. He knows that if we don't pray, we can become susceptible to yielding to temptation. It's hard to fall to temptation when our hearts and minds are filled with thoughts towards our Father in heaven as we pray. Jesus specifically made this point in Matthew 26:41 (NIV). God also wants us to persist through an oftentimes difficult Christian life, and Jesus communicated this to His disciples in Luke 18:1 (NIV) where he said that that they “should always pray and not give up.”
Believers pray in order to make requests of God.God is willing to give us what is best for us. Jesus equates it in Matthew 7:11 (NIV) to parents that know how to give good gifts to their children. In the same passage, He said that the Father is more than willing to give good gifts to those who petition Him, which is done when we pray. The Bible also says in James 1:17 (NIV) that every good gift comes from the Father in heaven. So why don't we get everything we ask for? Usually it is because either we ask it out of God's will (James 4:2 NIV) or God has something better for us in the future (Isaiah 55:8-9 NIV).
Christians need to pray in order to express their gratitude to God. Psalm 100:4 (NIV) says that believers should enter into the gates of the Lord with thanksgiving and praise. Entering into these gates in this life can only be done when we pray. It is pleasing to the Lord when Christians are thankful. Psalm 95:2 (NIV) says that we should come before God with thanksgiving and music and singing. The Bible also tells us in Psalm 105:1 (NIV) that we should give the Lord our thankfulness and call on His name. When we pray, we call on His name.
We agree with and open up to God's will when we pray. In Psalm 143:10 (NIV), the psalmist petitions God to teach him to do His will. When we pray, we make our hearts and minds receptive to what God wants for us. If we don't get the answer right away, we wait and hope. When we wait with hope on the Lord, the Bible says in Isaiah 40:31 (NIV) that our strength will be renewed.
Christians should pray so that God's work will prosper. The Apostle Paul makes the statement in 1 Corinthians 3:7 (NIV) that it is God who makes a church, along with its outreach ministries, grow. In light of this, Christians are told in Matthew 9:38 (NIV) to ask the Lord to send workers to the “harvest” (which is a symbolic word for the Lord's ministries).
