Christian Healing Ministry - Devotionals

Devotional for April 16, 2026

WHAT IS PRAYER

SCRIPTURE READING - 📖 Luke 18:1

“Then He spoke a parable to them, that men always ought to pray and not lose heart.”

Additional Verses

📖 Daniel 6:1-28; Matthew 6:5-15; Luke 18:1-8

Prayer is communication with our Father in Heaven. It is also an act of faith as it involves communicating with the unseen God. In order for your prayer to be meaningful and effective, you must clearly understand what faith is. Hebrews 11:1 says, “Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see.” Meaning faith is the response of the human spirit to the Word of God. Hebrews 11:6 teaches, “But without faith it is impossible to please him; for he who comes to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.” This is the condition for your prayer to be answered. Therefore this means that effective prayer involves all the five basic principles of faith which are; Believing in God whom you are communicating with even though you cannot see Him with your physical eye; Studying the Word of God which teaches you the right way to pray to God. Thirdly, you must be Obedient to what God says to you in His Word in order for you to receive from Him and fourthly, you must not compromise the Word of God and fifthly, you must not make any excuses concerning the way in which the Word of God directs you to pray. Take the example of Daniel in Daniel 6:6-23, even when a decree had been passed by the king that anyone who would be found praying to another god, other than the king would be thrown into the den of lions, still Daniel continued to uncompromisingly pray to the living God. Daniel 6:10 says, “Now when Daniel knew that the writing was signed, he went home. And in his upper room, with his windows open toward Jerusalem, he knelt down on his knees three times that day, and prayed and gave thanks before his God, as was his custom since early days.” Daniel did not pray that he was in danger and was now asking God for protection, rather he prayed giving thanks before his God as was his custom since early days. Many children of God only pray because they are in trouble or they are sick or they are looking for a breakthrough. Once they get what they are looking for they forget all about communicating with God until some other trouble shows up against them again. This is not the type of prayer that leads to salvation at all. If you have been praying this way, you must immediately learn from this devotional that prayer is actually your spiritual food which you must have, a consistent prayer program just like Daniel. At the beginning of His Ministry, the Lord Jesus Christ was led into the wilderness to fast and pray and afterward He was able to defeat the devil when he came tempting Him. Also as a child of God you must follow His example so that you can overcome the challenges you come across in this world that we are living. The Lord Jesus Christ taught His disciples to pray in Matthew Chapter 6 from verse 5. When you pray, do not pray such that you are seen by people, but rather find a secret place where you can talk to the Father Who sees what is done in secret and rewards you accordingly. The LORD Jesus Christ in the above text reminds that men always ought to pray. Luke 21:37 says, “And in the daytime he was teaching in the temple, and at night he went out and abode in the mount that is called the mount of Olives.” This shows that our LORD Jesus Christ, while He was on earth, He always maintained a daily prayer program. It is in prayer that the Father edifies us for greater works. For God to bless you in your life, you must have a disciplined prayer life. Be wise and commit yourself to an effective prayer life and you will see how much the Father will bless you in every area of your life and also to overcome any challenges, tests and trials that may come your way. Alleluia!

Prayer

Dear Mighty Father, thank You for letting me know what prayer is and how important it is for me. Help me to be able to pray all the time and to never cease praying, for when I pray, I will be strengthening my relationship with You. Thank You LORD Jesus Christ. Amen.