Value of Prayer

God has made it possible to approach His throne because of the sacrifice of Jesus for our sins - the barrier has been removed, and we can not enter His presence. However, we should never take the acts of prayer and worship for granted; we should possess a certain attitude that is spoken about in Hebrews chapter 12:
25 See that you do not refuse Him who speaks. For if they did not escape who refused Him who spoke on earth, much more shall we not escape if we turn away from Him who speaks from heaven,
26 whose voice then shook the earth; but now He has promised, saying, "Yet once more I shake not only the earth, but also heaven."
27 Now this, "Yet once more," indicates the removal of those things that are being shaken, as of things that are made, that the things which cannot be shaken may remain.
28 Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom which cannot be shaken, let us have grace, by which we may serve God acceptably with reverence and godly fear.
29 For our God is a consuming fire.

We serve a God who walks with us and that is of great value to the Christian. But, we should always understand that He is a holy God and is worthy of our devotion and humility. If we are flippant or less than serious about our walk with Him, then it is an indicator of a lack of respect or adoration for Him. We can have power in prayer as we approach Him in the right way, uniting our hearts with Him and demonstrating our dependence on Him.

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On this National Day of Prayer, we can consider the words of James chapter 5, which tells us:
16 Confess your trespasses to one another, and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much.

The theme Scripture for this year's observance, in accordance with the theme, "Exalt the Lord Who Has Established Us," is Colossians chapter 2, verses 6 and 7:
6 As you have therefore received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in Him,
7 rooted and built up in Him and established in the faith, as you have been taught, abounding in it with thanksgiving.

We believe in the power of prayer and our Savior who answers prayer.  We acknowledge that prayer is effective.  But, is there a measure of the "value" of prayer, as in monetary value?

A study by the Public Library of Science seems to indicate that there could be, according to an article at the Church Times website.  The article says that:

The group designed an experimental survey to elicit the monetary value (willingness to pay) to religious Christians and non-believers of receiving a prayer from a Christian stranger. They recruited 656 survey participants from around the country who received a $5 payment in e-currency that they could spend to solicit or avoid prayers from a Christian stranger.

Out of the 656, roughly 65%, or 482, professed to be Christians, mirroring the percentage of the US population that have made such a profession. Then, according to the article, "Participants were asked to describe recent hardship; how difficult it had been to deal with emotionally or practically; and how they would characterise it for themselves or for a loved one. They were told that they would be offered the opportunity to receive a supportive prayer from a Christian stranger who believed in God, aimed at 'the positive and peaceful resolution' of the hardship that they had described."

The prime result:

The 451 Christians were found to value prayers at an average of $2.34, while the 166 non-believers were willing to pay $1.56 not to be prayed for. 

The article goes on to say: 

Eighty-two per cent of the Christians in the study believed that prayer would result in God intervening to ease their emotional pain. Many also valued it because they believed that God would help them materially (36 per cent), or improve their health (55 per cent).

Also, "Seventy-eight per cent of the Christians who positively valued prayers believed that prayer from a stranger would be answered by God." And, in a rather interesting twist, "...a large majority of both Christians and non-believers valued the prayer positively because they considered sending it to be a meaningful activity for the stranger. Hence, 'altruism could be an important part of the prayer’s value, to both Christians and non- believers — the recipient believes the sender of the prayer will benefit from undertaking it.'"

Fortunately, we don't have to pay for prayer - it is absolutely free for anyone to do. But, the quality of prayer is determined by that person's relationship with God through Jesus Christ. The Bible is clear that if we want to reach the Father, we do so by going through the Son.  Christ has provided access for us to approach God's throne and to present our requests.

We could also say that the ability to come before God is of inestimable value.  A holy, powerful God has issued the invitation to come before Him.  We can walk with God through Jesus Christ.  And we should never take that for granted and approach Him with the "reverence and awe" due His name, spoken of in Hebrews chapter 12. We can be incredibly thankful for what Christ has done and humble ourselves before the One who humbled Himself before death itself so that we might be able to call on Him.