Why Pray?
“Why pray? It’s an age-old question. We read books about how to pray, when to pray, what to pray … but perhaps the most basic query of all remains the most difficult. Why pray?
Why do we ask God for things and situations and then as Jesus taught us, submit the requests to His will? If we are asking God to do what he wants, what’s the point? Can’t God handle doing His work without us asking? Does He really need our assistance to accomplish His will for the world?
Obviously God got along quite well before He created humans … except He did create humans. The essence of prayer’s purpose lies in the first book of the Bible. God created us to fellowship with the Trinity; God created us to rule over the earth; God created us to participate in filling the world. Part of that participation for which God created us involves communication with the Creator.
Surely God knew what he wanted to do when He wiped out Sodom and Gomorrah and saved only Lot’s family. But first God visited Abraham, and Abraham bargained with God to extend mercy. That bold conversation gave Abraham a compassion for the situation he would have otherwise not known.
When we enter into conversation with God on others’ behalf, we enter into partnership in the pain and the process. As partners, we also share the victory. While I was writing this, my friend sent an e-mail prayer request for her upcoming cancer treatments. Praying for her means sharing her journey, partnering with her and with God. This partnership keeps me connected with both God and my friend.
In fact, prayer involves more than intercession for ourselves or others. Prayer includes time spent with God. Like any parent, God appreciates time spent in His presence without our request `grocery list.’ Just as any human relationship depends on quality time, so does our relationship with God.
Each Deeper Path contains various tips on how to pray. Settle the `why’ in your heart. Determine that prayer is truly your lifeline to God. Without prayer, we are afloat without a lifeboat. With prayer, we are surrounded with opportunities to commune with God and participate in his work in the world.
Why pray? Because the Creator of the universe stoops to listen.
Think it through: Create your own list of reasons to pray.”
~Article from Light and Life Magazine: The Deeper Path by Katherine Callahan-Howell
Why do we ask God for things and situations and then as Jesus taught us, submit the requests to His will? If we are asking God to do what he wants, what’s the point? Can’t God handle doing His work without us asking? Does He really need our assistance to accomplish His will for the world?
Obviously God got along quite well before He created humans … except He did create humans. The essence of prayer’s purpose lies in the first book of the Bible. God created us to fellowship with the Trinity; God created us to rule over the earth; God created us to participate in filling the world. Part of that participation for which God created us involves communication with the Creator.
Surely God knew what he wanted to do when He wiped out Sodom and Gomorrah and saved only Lot’s family. But first God visited Abraham, and Abraham bargained with God to extend mercy. That bold conversation gave Abraham a compassion for the situation he would have otherwise not known.
When we enter into conversation with God on others’ behalf, we enter into partnership in the pain and the process. As partners, we also share the victory. While I was writing this, my friend sent an e-mail prayer request for her upcoming cancer treatments. Praying for her means sharing her journey, partnering with her and with God. This partnership keeps me connected with both God and my friend.
In fact, prayer involves more than intercession for ourselves or others. Prayer includes time spent with God. Like any parent, God appreciates time spent in His presence without our request `grocery list.’ Just as any human relationship depends on quality time, so does our relationship with God.
Each Deeper Path contains various tips on how to pray. Settle the `why’ in your heart. Determine that prayer is truly your lifeline to God. Without prayer, we are afloat without a lifeboat. With prayer, we are surrounded with opportunities to commune with God and participate in his work in the world.
Why pray? Because the Creator of the universe stoops to listen.
Think it through: Create your own list of reasons to pray.”
~Article from Light and Life Magazine: The Deeper Path by Katherine Callahan-Howell
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