As I was tucking my son into bed the other night, we continued our same nightly routine: we said our prayers together. This night ended a little differently. As we finished, he looked at me and said “Daddy, what are we doing?”
I asked him what he meant. He replied “Why do we talk to God if He already knows what we are going to say anyway?”
Thinking on my feet I asked him “Why do you talk to me?”
My little boy replied “You’re different: you don’t know it all!”
We talked about it for awhile, and as I walked back down the stairs I realized that he had just asked a really good question! Why do we pray if God is sovereign, all powerful, all knowing and has His own agenda (His will) in place? Why bother?
Here’s what I know from scripture:
- Jesus did it. As the Son of God, Jesus spent countless hours in prayer with His heavenly Father. Matthew 26:36-39
- God tells us to pray. If you are a child of God, God longs to hear our prayers and petitions. Ephesians 6:18
- Prayer isn’t designed to change God’s mind, it’s designed to change our hearts to be in line with God’s will. Genesis 18:16-33 (Good example: God’s will was to destroy
Sodom
- Just because we don’t understand it doesn’t mean it doesn’t work? God is God, and we are not. Job 41
- God accepts the prayers of His children. Psalms 6:9
- It brings us closer to God, not God closer to us. If you belong to God, then He’s already there. We are the ones who wander off like lost sheep. Prayer brings us back.
- It completes the other half of the equation. God speaks to us through scripture and prayer (our talking with God) brings our heart in line with Him and helps us hear what He is saying.
- Prayer allows us to see God’s hand at work. In return, we grow in our faith which makes us more like Jesus.
- He's not only our Father, but our Daddy. Galatians 4:6-7 The word "Abba" literally translates as "Daddy". As our Daddy, there is absolutely nothing that we are not allowed to say to Him. God already knows our heart. Why try to put on a different face when you pray? Tell Him what is on your heart.
There are many other reasons to pray that I haven't listed (confession, offering thanks, etc.) These are just a few that come to mind.
Don’t get me wrong! I truly do not understand how it works, but it works. God’s will is perfect. It is so cool how a Holy God allows us to approach him like a child, pouring out our heart to our Father! Don’t miss the opportunity to speak with God. The Bible promises us that He is listening!
Walker is a smart boy - I believe in prayer for all the reasons you listed. I've "heard" God speak to my heart in prayer, I've seen prayers answered, both yes and no. But even at my age it is still sometimes a mystery. I believe one of the coolest things we will see in heaven is a full understanding of how prayer really worked during our time on earth. I believe God is going to show me what was going on in the spiritual world and how prayer affected our lives and that of others.
ReplyDeleteI remember talking to Dana Curnow Dando about a year after her cancer went into remission. I don't know that I have ever prayed for anyone quite like I prayed for her. There were so many times while she was sick that I would just be almost overwhelmed with the need to stop whatever I was doing and pray for her. Later when I talked with Dana, she said there were times she would feel so sick, so overwhelmed with fear and despair over her situation. She said many, many times she would feel that way, and then all of a sudden it was as if a peace would just wash over her. She said that was when she knew someone was praying for her. I guess skeptics would explain that away, but I believe with all my heart God was doing something in the spiritual realm through our prayers.