Why Is Prayer Important? 8 Catholic Reasons to Pray

Prayer is important because it is a living relationship with God, and without it faith slowly dies. The Catechism of the Catholic Church says simply: “Prayer is a vital necessity” (CCC 2744). We do not pray to inform God of our needs or to change his mind, but to let him change us, to receive his grace, to love him and to love others through him. Below are eight reasons the Church gives for praying, answers to common questions such as “Why pray if God already knows everything?”, and what to do when it seems that God does not answer.

1. Prayer is a relationship with God

The Christian faith is not only something to believe and celebrate; it is to be lived “in a vital and personal relationship with the living and true God. This relationship is prayer” (CCC 2558). Just as a friendship dies without conversation, our relationship with God grows cold without prayer.

2. God thirsts for us first

We are not the first to seek God. At the well in Samaria, Jesus asked a woman for a drink. The Catechism explains: “Whether we realize it or not, prayer is the encounter of God’s thirst with ours. God thirsts that we may thirst for him” (CCC 2560). Prayer is our answer to a God who longs for us.

3. Jesus prayed, and told us to pray

Jesus rose early to pray, spent whole nights in prayer, prayed before every great decision and in his agony. He taught his disciples the Our Father and told them to pray always:

And he spoke also a parable to them, that we ought always to pray, and not to faint,

4. God gives good things to those who ask

God wants to give, and he wants us to ask, like children who trust their father:

Ask, and it shall be given you: seek, and you shall find: knock, and it shall be opened to you.
For every one that asketh, receiveth: and he that seeketh, findeth: and to him that knocketh, it shall be opened.

5. Prayer gives us strength against sin

“If we do not allow the Spirit to lead us, we fall back into the slavery of sin,” the Catechism warns, quoting St. John Chrysostom: “Nothing is equal to prayer; for what is impossible it makes possible, what is difficult, easy” (CCC 2744). Prayer is how we receive the grace to resist temptation and to grow in virtue.

6. Prayer brings peace

Rejoice in the Lord always; again, I say, rejoice.
Let your modesty be known to all men. The Lord is nigh.
Be nothing solicitous; but in every thing, by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your petitions be made known to God.
And the peace of God, which surpasseth all understanding, keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.

7. Prayer helps others

When we pray for others, we share in Christ’s own intercession. Prayer for the sick, for sinners, for the dead and for the world truly matters, because God has chosen to work through the prayers of his people. See intercessory prayer.

8. Prayer prepares us for heaven

Heaven is the endless life of love and praise with God. Prayer on earth is a beginning of that life: the more we pray now, the more we learn to love what we will enjoy forever.

Why pray if God already knows what we need?

Jesus himself said, “Your Father knoweth what is needful for you, before you ask him.” We pray not to tell God something he does not know, but to open our hearts to receive what he wants to give, to grow in trust, and to love him as children love a father. Prayer changes the one who prays.

What if my prayers are not answered?

Every Christian experiences this. The Church offers three pieces of wisdom:

God always answers, but not always as we expect. Sometimes the answer is “yes,” sometimes “not yet,” and sometimes “I have something better for you.” The Catechism says: “Do not be troubled if you do not immediately receive from God what you ask him; for he desires to do something even greater for you, while you cling to him in prayer” (CCC 2737).
Ask with a pure heart. St. James warns that we may “ask wrongly,” for things that would harm us.
Persevere. Jesus told the parable of the persistent widow so that we would not lose heart. St. Monica prayed seventeen years for her son, St. Augustine. See the St. Monica prayer.

A prayer when it is hard to pray

Written for this page:

Lord, I do not always know how to pray,
and sometimes I do not feel like praying at all.
Yet I believe that you are here and that you love me.
Teach me to pray. Give me a hunger for you,
patience when you seem silent,
and the trust of a child who knows his (her) Father hears. Amen.

Frequently asked questions

Why is prayer important for Catholics?

Because prayer is our living relationship with God, the way we receive his grace, grow in faith, resist sin, help others and prepare for heaven.

Does prayer change God’s mind?

God does not change, but he has chosen from all eternity to give some gifts in answer to prayer. Prayer also changes us, making us ready to receive what God wants to give.

How often should Catholics pray?

Every day, at set times (morning, meals, evening), at Sunday Mass, and, as St. Paul says, “without ceasing” through short prayers and offering the day to God. See how to pray as a Catholic.

Why do Catholics pray to saints?

Not instead of God, but asking the saints to pray with us and for us, as we ask friends on earth to pray for us. See prayers to saints.

More guides to prayer

Sources

Catechism of the Catholic Church 2558, 2560, 2737, 2744.
Scripture: Luke 18:1; Matthew 7:7–8; Philippians 4:4–7; Matthew 6:8, Douay-Rheims Bible (Challoner), public domain.
The prayer was written for this page.