1.  Jesus tells two parables to drive home the importance of and need to pray:

-We should be persistent in prayer because, if a human friend will respond out of his reluctance to our persistence, how much more will God respond Who is not reluctant and does not need to be persuaded to meet our need (Luke 11:5-8)

-God waits for us to “ask, seek, and knock,” not because He is reluctant to hear and answer us, but because prayer is primarily fellowship with Him, and He desires fellowship with us (Luke 11:9-10)

-Even as human fathers respond to their children’s requests with good not harmful things, so God, our Heavenly Father, gives good things to those who seek Him (Luke 11:11-13)

In summary, God is never inconvenienced, never bothered, and never reluctant thought His answer may not come as quickly as we would like.

2.  “Prayer pulls the rope down below, and the great bell rings above in the ears of God.  Some scarcely stir the bell, for they pray so languidly; others give only an occasional jerk at the rope.  But he who communicates with heaven is the man who grasps the rope boldly and pulls continuously with all his might.” (C. H. Spurgeon)

3. - Prayer is not a substitute for action nor should it be an excuse for inaction. (Nehemiah 4:9)

- We must learn to accept “later,” “no,” and silence as answers to prayer.

- Prayer is not manipulating God into doing what I want, nor is it demanding of God something I want.

- Prayer is an essential part of the abiding life of fruitfulness that Jesus talks about in John 15.

- Since God knows all things, including our needs, why pray?

            -biblical prayer is relationship oriented not results-oriented.

            -God is our Father and wants us to come to Him with our needs, joys, weaknesses, hurts, etc.

            -we don’t pray so that we can instruct God in our needs but so that we can have union with Him