Why Do We Pray?
By Zack DeBerry
In this series, as we have been talking about Spiritual Disciplines being the key to Getting More from God, it is important to realize that these disciplines are rooted in relationship. Nowhere is that more true than the discipline of prayer. Prayer is one of the things that many of us tend to forget about or only do during a meal or when life brings challenges that become difficult for us to bear. But, the true beauty of prayer is that it is an invitation to communicate and get to know the God of the universe better. That alone should be reason enough to make prayer a part of daily routine, but many people don’t. So, I want to give a few more reasons why Prayer should be an important part of our day.
1. Prayer Gives Us a Picture of Who God Is. I mean if you want to know about someone you better spend some time not just reading their Facebook posts, but spending time in conversations with them. Many people fail to see prayer as just this kind of interaction between them and God. Many churches have made praying so formal that it has lost it’s relational meaning. I know it sounds weird to say that we get to know God more, but the truth is as we begin to talk and express our love, devotion, need for Him in our lives, He begins to reveal Himself. As we open our hearts and minds to communicate with Him regularly, we are able to see more of His nature.
2. Prayer Invites God Into Our Mess. When we communicate with God through prayer He already knows our situation, but it allows us the freedom to truly trust Him in the midst of our life. Prayer doesn’t inform God of anything new, but it helps us to know Him and know that He is there with us. Many times this comes as a sense of peace while your are praying; other times your mind may be led to a previous situation or even a passage of scripture. God is all knowing and longs to be involved in what we are going through and prayer is the avenue that releases His love and peace into our lives.
3. Prayer Allows Us to See Things From God’s Point of View. One of my favorite Psalms is 119. There is so much good instruction for how to follow and obey God. One verse that always stands out to me is verse 18. It reads, “Open my eyes to see the wonderful truths in your instructions.” (NLT) This stands out to me because Psalms is really a collection of prayers and praises to God. When we pray something like verse 18, God will begin to “Open our Eyes” so that we can begin to see things as He does and thus change how we live and interact with those around us.
There are many other benefits to making prayer a daily discipline, but the most important thing to remember is that we have been invited to spend time with God. Can you imagine being invited to an incredible dinner somewhere with someone you always wanted to hang out with and blowing it off to cut your grass? That may seem a bit extreme, but that is how many people approach prayer. They don’t understand the power of the invitation that lies before them in prayer. As individuals and as a church, the greatest thing we can do is spend time in conversation with God. To know Him, to invite Him into our mess, and to gain His perspective as we try to move for Him. I hope that you will begin to accept the invitation and spend some time with God this week in prayer.