Why Pray?
Why pray? I remember hearing a story of a Christian woman asking her friend about the need for prayer. She asked, “After all, if God knows the future, why should I pray?”. If God is who the Bible says he is, why does my prayer matter? For that answer, turn your attention to the Word of God and His view of prayer.
The Bible gives a clear-cut command to pray! There’s no escaping the fact that Christians should take time to pray to God:
Ephesians 6:18 - Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints;
James 5:16 - Confess your faults one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed. The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much.
Philippians 4:6 - Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God.
Prayer is not optional for the Christian. It’s the very catalyst of our spiritual strength. I’ve heard it said that a car’s oil is its life’s blood. If you want your engine to last, you must take the time to change the oil. You can never let that oil get too dirty. You can never let it stay too long in the engine. The same is true as it related to the Christian. Time away from God results in being away from God. First and foremost, we must be praying to our Heavenly Father! Then we see that prayer does change things! Look at what the Bible says about the results of prayer:
Mark 11:24 - Therefore I say unto you, What things soever ye desire, when ye pray, believe that ye receive them, and ye shall have them.
Matthew 6:6 - But thou, when thou prayest, enter into thy closet, and when thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy Father which is in secret; and thy Father which seeth in secret shall reward thee openly.
Luke 11:9 - And I say unto you, Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you.
Psalms 34:17 - The righteous cry, and the LORD heareth, and delivereth them out of all their troubles.
The Bible is clear on what happens when we pray. God hears and answers our prayers! God desires us to pray and will always do a work in our lives. This does not mean that we control God and usurp His sovereignty, getting the things we want over God’s plan. God’s will is always firm and He is in complete control. This, however, does not excuse us from begging God to work in our lives. Is God already in our tomorrow? Yes. But the simple fact is that WE are not in our tomorrow. We still need God’s help and guidance for our future. We still need God to do his work in our lives, even if that work is signed, sealed, and delivered by God’s omniscient power and strength! It’s amazing to think that God is answering our prayers before we ask them. We pray because of the work God will do. I think of Moses, standing with so much anxiety before the King of Egypt. God had already told him the outcome, but Moses still had to walk what was, to him, an uncertain path. To God, however, the battle was already won by His power. God’s people just had to wait and see how His victory would be accomplished!
So is prayer important to an all-powerful, all-knowing God? Should we be spending time praying when God is the same yesterday, today, and forever? Will God hear and answer my prayer today with Him knowing my tomorrow? The answer to all these questions is simple. Yes. Never stop praying because God will never stop working in our lives. God will answer our prayers with what is best for our lives. The “greater yes”. I may not know what that answer will be, but until that answer is disclosed to me, I’ll keep praying, rejoicing in the times he answers and blesses me, and trusting in those times of waiting through difficulty. God is always good, and God is always RIGHT! I may not know the mind of God, but I know He loves me and listens to me. That’s enough for me to keep praying!
Pastor Brad