As a young woman, this impacted me in a profound way; especially as I saw "my" pages she had kept for me. I can still remember how deeply my heart was touched to find that my grandmother had prayed for me in ways that I couldn't begin to grasp as a child and teenager. One of my aunts commented, "Well, I guess when she told people she was praying for them, she really was, huh?" In that moment I knew I wanted to be like that. I wanted to be a person of prayer like my grandmother was. I wanted to actually back up the words, "I am praying for you" with actual prayer.

That decision that day, in my grandmother's bedroom, has led me on a journey that is far from over. My journey has fluctuated between the extremes of intense excitement about praying for people and deep doubt and despair that my prayers are doing anything. I have had seasons of having total faith that there is indeed a purpose to prayer and intercession and I have had seasons of wondering why, if everything is already fore-ordained by God, do we bother to pray? I have had times of powerful prayer and times when I can barely form the words in my heart much less with my mouth.

I am currently in one of those times where I have no emotional or spiritual energy to pray. And yet, as I continue to quench this almost obsessive thirst to read articles and books on prayer, I continue to attempt to pray because I know that it does make a difference. I'm still unsure as to how it all works with God's Sovereignty and fore-knowledge of everything that is going to take place, but I have come to rest in the fact that despite my complete understanding, based on truths of God's Word, there are reasons we pray.

For the past three months I have been reading and re-reading a tiny book passed on by my paternal grandmother (also a prayer warrior) entitled How To Pray by R.A. Torrey. Although it's a short read (only a pocket size book wtih 107 pages) there are so many thoughts to dwell on and take with me into my prayer times that I have to keep re-reading it and meditating on the truths that are presented.

In Chapter 1, R.A. stresses the importance of prayer. Why do we pray? We pray because (to name a few):

1. We are commanded to (Ephesians 6:18)
2. We have an enemy that seeks to destroy us (Ephesians 6:12)
3. It is God's appointed was way for obtaining things (James 4:2)
4. The men that God sets forth as examples for us regarded prayer as the most important business of their lives (Acts 6:2-4)
5. Prayer occupied a very prominent place in the earthly life of our Savior (Mark 1:35; Luke 6:12)
6. Praying continues to remain a major ministry of our risen Savior (Hebrews 7:25; Romans 8:34)

The entire book is powerful but the following is one of the most powerful things R.A. wrote about the topic:

"In order for a prayer to really be unto God, there must be a definite and conscious approach to God when we pray. . . In very much of our prayer, there is really only little thought of God. Our mind is taken up with the thought of what we need and is not occupied with the thought of the mighty and loving Father of whom we are seeking. Oftentimes, we are neither occupied with the need nor with the One to whom we are praying. Instead, our mind is wandering here and there throughout the world. There is not power in that sort of prayer. But, when we really come into God's presence, really meet Him face to face in the place of prayer, really seek the things that we desire from Him, then there is power. . . This is only possible by the Holy Spirit's power, so we should look to the Holy Spirit to really lead us unto the presence of God. And, we should not be hasty in words until He has brought us there. . . "

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