13 Is any one of you in trouble? He should pray. Is anyone happy? Let him sing songs of praise. 14 Is any one of you sick? He should call the elders of the church to pray over him and anoint him with oil in the name of the Lord. 15 And the prayer offered in faith will make the sick person well; the Lord will raise him up. If he has sinned, he will be forgiven. 16 Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective.
5 If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him. 6 But when he asks, he must believe and not doubt, because he who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind. 7 That man should not think he will receive anything from the Lord; 8 he is a double-minded man, unstable in all he does.
1 Then Jesus told his disciples a parable to show them that they should always pray and not give up. 2 He said: “In a certain town there was a judge who neither feared God nor cared about men. 3 And there was a widow in that town who kept coming to him with the plea, ‘Grant me justice against my adversary.’ 4 For some time he refused. But finally he said to himself, ‘Even though I don’t fear God or care about men, 5 yet because this widow keeps bothering me, I will see that she gets justice, so that she won't eventually wear me out with her coming!’” 6 And the Lord said, “Listen to what the unjust judge says. 7 And will not God bring about justice for his chosen ones, who cry out to him day and night? Will he keep putting them off? 8 I tell you, he will see that they get justice, and quickly. However, when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on the earth?”
8 Away from me, all you who do evil, for the LORD has heard my weeping. 9 The LORD has heard my cry for mercy; the LORD accepts my prayer. 10 All my enemies will be ashamed and dismayed; they will turn back in sudden disgrace.
29 The LORD is far from the wicked but he hears the prayer of the righteous.
13 When they arrived, they went upstairs to the room where they were staying. Those present were Peter, John, James and Andrew; Philip and Thomas, Bartholomew and Matthew; James son of Alphaeus and Simon the Zealot, and Judas son of James. 14 They all joined together constantly in prayer, along with the women and Mary the mother of Jesus, and with his brothers.
12 Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer.
2 Devote yourselves to prayer, being watchful and thankful.
17 Pray continually.
6 Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. 7 And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
“Prayer is not a spiritual luxury; it is essential for growth. Prayer—as vital to one’s spiritual health as breathing is to one's physical health—should be continual, not casual. In his praying, a Christian should be watchful (‘alert, aware’) against spiritual drowsiness caused by attention to the world and/or by the wiles of the devil. Being thankful should always accompany prayer, for it places a believer in the proper attitude before God. The Bible Knowledge Commentary: An Exposition of the Scriptures by Dallas Seminary Faculty
“A prayerless soul is a Christless soul.” Charles Spurgeon
“Life doesn’t have to get easier to be good. All you have to do is just get closer to a good God. Commit to more than a prayer life. Make your life a prayer.” Ann Voskamp
“There comes a time, in spite of our soft, modern ways, when we must be desperate in prayer, when we must wrestle, when we must be outspoken, shameless and importunate. Many of the prayers recorded in Scripture are ‘cries,’ and the Hebrew and Greek words are very strong. Despite opinions to the contrary, the Bible recognizes such a thing as storming heaven- ‘praying through.’ The fervent prayer of a righteous man is mighty in its working.” Cameron Thompson
“Faith is to prayer, what the feather is to the arrow; it feathers the arrow of prayer, and makes it fly swifter, and pierce the throne of grace.” Thomas Watson
“Grant especially, blessed Lord, that Your church may believe that it is by the power of united prayer that she can bind and loose in heaven, cast out Satan, save souls, remove mountains, and hasten the coming of the kingdom.” A prayer from Andrew Murray
“Our attitude of surrender and dependence upon God is best evidenced by our prayer life.” Chip Ingram
“Men may spurn our appeals, reject our message, oppose our arguments, despise our persons; but they are helpless against our prayers.” J. Sidlow Baxter
“Prayer is infinitely powerful and a priceless privilege. It is abjectly humble and an absolute necessity.” Sylvia Gunter
“The one concern of the devil is to keep Christians from praying. He fears nothing from prayerless studies, prayerless work, and prayerless religion. He laughs at our toil, mocks at our wisdom, but trembles when we pray.” Samuel Chadwick
“Three things helped me as we went through, and continue to go through, crisis: prayer, the Word of God, and the encouragement of fellow believers.” Greg Laurie
“Philippians 4:6 instructs us to pray about everything. If Paul had wanted us to limit our praying to everything big, he certainly would have told us. God is as interested in your small, seemingly insignificant requests as he is your kingdom-level, life changing needs. God’s interest in your prayers isn’t dependent upon their relative kingdom weightiness. Its’ based on his love for and interest in you. Praying for the little things teaches you to depend on God. Since prayer is communication and dialogue with God, praying for little things teaches you to enjoy his presence. Seeking God in the little things increases your gratitude and offers perspective. You should pray for little things, because they often turn into big things.” Anonymous
“Pleading the promises of God is the whole secret of prayer.” Martyn Lloyd-Jones
“‘Dost thou want nothing, O poor soul? Hast thou nothing to ask? Oh yes! You say, a great deal. Well then, draw near to thy gracious King and Bridegroom without fear. Lo! He holds out His golden scepter to thee, saying, ‘Only ask: not the half, but the whole of My kingdom shall be granted; nay, I will give myself unto thee!’ O dear soul, pray, and tell Him everything that is wanting, be it ever so great or ever so small. His loving-kindness will hear even the least petition; nay, He will seem to be ignorant of what thou dost not tell Him. But whatever is poured out before Him is actually addressed and lodged in its proper place, and does not lie upon thy heart any longer, but upon His heart, which cannot rest till you are relieved. And if you have experienced His help aforetime in great or small things, you may depend on His readiness to help you out of troubles hereafter; only be earnest in prayer for His help. We often imagine we were willing and drawing near to Him, but He was unwilling, and refused our request; but it is not so: He rather draws us, and desires our relief more than we do; for it is He that works even this willing mind.” K.H. Von Bogatzky
“Prayer is not overcoming God’s reluctance, but laying hold of His willingness.” Martin Luther
“The chief purpose of prayer is that God may be glorified in the answer.” R.A. Torrey
“All we love is in his hands. He hears our prayers and our tears when there are no words. He counts them as liquid intercession, which is precious to him (Ps. 56:8a). He is our Mighty Warrior and contends with those forces that are contending with us (Isa. 42:13; Ps. 35:1).” Sylvia Gunter
“Groanings which cannot be uttered are often prayers which cannot be refused.” Charles H. Spurgeon
“The great tragedy of life is not unanswered prayer but unoffered prayer.” F. B. Meyer