As I've embarked on this experiment of trying to disciple six people, we have just a few goals. We're going to pray more and I'm going to help them grow in one area of their lives. In our initial email exchanges, we've already bumped up against a fundamental question: Why do we pray? Here are 15 reasons. Post your own in the comment section.

1. God has always asked His people to pray. Check it out in Scripture.

2. Jesus prayed, sometimes all night long, and He is our model - we do what He did.
3. The tradition of prayer has been a cornerstone of the faith thru history.
4. God's people scattered throughout the Bible were always praying.
5. Prayer ushers us into God's presence.
6. We are told, "Pray always." (1 Thess. 5:17)
7. Prayer reins in our overactive, worry-prone control-oriented minds.
8. We remind ourselves of Jesus' Lordship as we pray. It helps us not be presumptuous.
9. We align ourselves with the Spirit, allowing Him to counsel us.
10. We learn to recognize Jesus' voice as we pray ("my sheep hear my voice").
11. We bring our petitions to God and He answers them. (2 Thess. 1:11)
12. God deserves our praise. We glorify Him as we pray. (2 Thess. 1:12)
13. Where the Church is advancing around the world, people are praying.
14. The whole Bible is the product of prayer - God revealing stuff to men & them writing it down.
15. The early disciples prayed all the time. They prayed continually for days after Jesus ascended.

For more on prayer, check out the "Prayer" topic on my blog.