Why Do We Pray?
Verse of the Day
“Then you will call on me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you.”
Today’s Devotional
I don’t believe, based on my personal experience, that I need to understand the “why” of something before I act. In fact, most times, I simply cannot understand something until I have done it repeatedly. But for the sake of discussion, let’s examine why we pray – or even why we should pray.
Before we do that, let’s define prayer. The following is from Anthony Lee Ash’s book titled Pray Always. “Perhaps a simple definition would see prayer as consciously addressing ourselves to God. In such an address, we may praise, or thank, or confess to, or complain to, or argue with him. We may make requests of him. We may express concerns for others, or for ourselves. We may pray audibly or silently. Body postures may vary. We may be in solitude, or caught in the web of the day’s business. Our moods may be devotional or frenzied. Our minds may focus or wonder. Our lives may be tranquil, or we may be facing crushing crises. The time we spend praying may be hours or seconds. The prayers may flow easily or sputter from us in fits and starts. But in all these situations, we are deliberately communicating with the Lord.”
OK, so prayer is deliberate communication with God. So now we ask, “Why do we pray?”
- We pray because we are instructed to do so. Many places in the New Testament instruct us to pray. For example, Philippians 4:6 says, “Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done.”
- We pray because the God of heaven invites us to pray. This is true of both the Old and New Testaments. “Then if my people who are called by my name will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sins and restore their land.” (2 Chronicles 7:14) “So let us come boldly to the throne of our gracious God. There we will receive his mercy, and we will find grace to help us when we need it most.” (Hebrews 4:16)
- We pray because it works. It has been said that “prayer changes things”. And while that may be true, the purpose of my time in prayer is that it changes ME. Oswald Chambers said, “We generally look upon prayer as a means of getting things for ourselves, but the biblical idea of prayer is that God’s holiness, purpose, and wise order may be brought about.” Chambers also said, “It is not so true that “prayer changes things” as that prayer changes us, and then we change things.”
- We pray because we have been invited into a Father/child relationship with God and prayer is the way we communicate with our Father.
- We pray because we have given lordship of our lives to Jesus Christ. If He is the Master and we are His servants, how are we to know our “orders” if not to listen to what He is asking us to do?
In his book If You Will Ask, Oswald Chambers answers the question “What’s the Good of Prayer?” Here is his answer:
We need it (Luke 11:1) because
Human wits have an end (Psalm 107:27-28)
Human wills have an end (Romans 8:26)
Human wisdom has an end (James 1:5)
Prayer alters me.
We must do it (Luke 18:1)
If we would know God (Matthew 6:8)
If we would help others (John 14:12-13)
If we would do God’s will (1 John 5:14-16)
Prayer alters others.
We can do it (James 5:16)
By asking (John 15:7)
By seeking (John 15:7)
By knocking (Matthew 7:7)
Prayer alters circumstances through me.
These reasons are more than enough for me. Are they for you? Whether or not I fully understand the “why”, I long to accept this holy invitation to pray. And in accepting this invitation, which we will discuss more tomorrow, I am delighted to be taught how to pray.
Journal Prompts
Answer only the questions that seem relevant to you today.
What is your “why”? Why do you pray?
If a stranger asked you to define prayer, what would you say?
Of the reasons listed today, which reason to pray is the hardest for you to understand?
What do you need to say to God today?