Why Pray?

Many Christians understand that God's is completely sovereign and His will cannot be changed. This then leads some believers to wonder why they should even pray if God's will cannot be changed. The second misunderstanding about prayer is that it is pointless. Nothing could be further from the truth. Just because my prayers do not alter God's will does not mean I should not pray. Jesus instructed His disciples to pray that the Lord's will be done in heaven and on earth. Prayer is an act of submission. Of course I want things to happen and I want God's omnipotent help with it, but ultimately prayer is for me to submit. I lay my requests before the Lord, but I have to be willing to accept any outcome He chooses. If He wants you to go to Uganda instead of Australia, to be a chef instead of lawyer, a homemaker and mother instead of a senator, then the Lord's will be done.

The other day my heart was greatly burdened about resigning my own interests to God's will. I had a situation that was not going to end in the outcome I desired. Of course I wanted the situation to end my way, but the Lord impressed upon my heart that it's not my will, but His. I should not readily assume that the best outcome for me is what I think it should be. As humans, our perception of God's will is limited to the here and now. We cannot see years down the road how things will unfold. We cannot see what God is doing in the life of someone else. All we see is our own life from our own eyes. Though circumstances arise in life when it gets difficult, I need to have the faith that God knows what He is doing more than I do. If you look back at your past, think of the prayers you have prayed and where you are now. Some have been answered and some have not. Did God answer every prayer that Moses prayed? No. Did God answer every prayer that David prayed? No. Did God answer every prayer that Jonah prayed? No. But all of their prayers brought them to their knees before the Lord and they had to submit to whatever the Lord chose to do. Think on the apostle Paul. He prayed on three separate occasions for the Lord to remove the thorn in his flesh that was undoubtedly from Satan. God answered Paul's prayer, but not in the way he requested. God simply said, "My grace is sufficient for you" (2 Corinthians 12:9). We can ask of the Lord and He may answer our prayer, but it also might not be the answer we were looking for. The answer might be yes, no, or wait.

In John Piper's book, Think, he has a great part on prayer. I think Piper captures the idea that God answers prayer as His will intends:

"What if you ask the question, 'Does Jesus promise that our heavenly Father always gives just what we ask for?' Hmmm. I'll have to reread to make sure. Well, it doesn't say that in so many words. Ask. Seek. Knock. Receive. Find. Door opened. But it doesn't say precisely what we receive and find. What about the human father? Does it say he gives exactly what his son asks? Check it. No. It says what he won't give - a stone and a snake.

"Now this is worth thinking about. It seems that the point of this text is that God really loves to give when we ask. He is not stingy. He is not bothered when we come. He is eager to give. And He doesn't toy with us. He doesn't put rocks in our lunchbox, or snakes in our Happy Meal. He gives us what is good for us. That seems to be the point.

"But what if we ask for something that is bad for us? My little son Benjamin once asked for a cracker, and when I opened the box they were moldy. I told him that they had fuzz on them. He wasn't sure what I was talking about and said, 'I'll eat the fuzz.' But I didn't give them to him. He got some other treat that day. Maybe not what he preferred. But it was good for him. He asked. I gave. But not the exact request. I love him too much for that."

The Lord loves His children and He wants us to ask from Him. Jesus told His disciples to pray and ask of the Lord. But the challenging thing is to accept what is given to us by the Lord. We may receive poverty instead of prosperity, suffering instead of luxury, sickness instead of healing, but ultimately the Lord is not going to give us something that is bad or evil for us. Sickness and poverty may seem like a bad thing to accept, but think about how sickness and poverty spiritually impact us. Being very sick turns my heart greatly to the Lord. Being financially strapped makes me turn to the Lord more than I would if I had a bank account full of money. Suffering for the Lord instead of having luxurious life will make me turn to the Lord. When we ask from the Lord, we have to place our faith and submission in His will. He knows best. It's not pointless to pray. God wants us to come to Him with our burdens. He wants us to yearn for Him and need Him. He wants us to submit to His will, not ours. We can ask, but it doesn't mean that we will receive what we want. God is omniscient, we are not. Our prayers don't alter the will that He knows is best for us.