The first reason why believers should pray is that this activity is everywhere urged, exhorted and even commanded for the Christian in Scripture. One example comes in Paul's letter to the Colossians:
Devote yourselves to prayer, keeping alert in it with an attitude of thanksgiving (Colossians 4:2).
Here, the command to us is to devote ourselves to prayer (or intercession). According to the Theological dictionary of the New Testament, the basic meaning behind the Greek word translated here as "devote" is "to stay by," "to persist at," "to remain with." In the context of this verse it means we should "occupy ourselves diligently with prayer," "pay persistent attention to prayer," "hold fast to prayer," or "continually be in prayer".
The church had certainly demonstrated from its very early days that its members understood this was important for them to do. In the days just before Pentecost, this is exactly what the church was doing: "These all with one mind were continually devoting themselves to prayer, along with the women, and Mary the mother of Jesus, and with His brothers." (Acts 1:14). We find the same activity was one of the characteristics of the Church soon after the Holy Spirit was given:
"They were continually devoting themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer" (Acts 2:42). In both these cases, the verb in the Greek is the same one we saw in Colossians 4:2. Our early brothers and sisters were continually in prayer, they persisted in it, they occupied themselves diligently with it.
Paul wanted the Colossian church to have the same characteristic as the church in Jerusalem and so he urges this devotion to prayer upon them.
The same injunction comes to us today from the Word of God. Although we have a great God and our access to Him is a tremendous privilege that was bought for us at incalculable cost, the Lord knows our hearts. He knows we are prone to wander and prone to squeeze prayer out of out schedules. He also knows how vital prayer is to our spiritual well-being - to our growth in grace and in knowing God. So along with many great and heartwarming encouragements in Scripture for us to draw near to the Heavenly Father Who is ready and willing to listen and to bless, there comes this word of command.
Let's hear this command today and be quick to obey - in the days that lie ahead of us this week, let's devote ourselves anew to prayer!