Why Pray?

May 3, 2012 is designated in the United States as a National Day of Prayer.
Why should we pray? Does God need us to tell Him what to do? Prayer is not some mystical incantation that requires a precise formula to obtain the desired results. Prayer is simply the term used for communicating with God. Talking with God. Listening to God. Connecting in a relationship with God.

When we are desperately dependent, our eager search for truth fosters a looming desire to know the heart and mind of God.

“Fear of the LORD is the foundation of wisdom.
      Knowledge of the Holy One results in good judgment.” (Prov. 9:10 NLT)

Prayer, Bible reading, and church attendance are ways to connect to God. But God did not design these disciplines as an obligation to be completed as a part of our daily routine. Prayer, for example, is the avenue whereby we can talk to God and communicate whatever is on our hearts. We don’t need to merely talk to ourselves throughout the day, because we have the privilege of interacting with Him at any given moment for any given reason. “Never stop praying” (1 Thess. 5:17 NLT). With eager anticipation we can embark on each new encounter with Him because it affords us the privilege of maturing into Christlikeness. There is no greater goal in life than receiving from His hand what God intends for us to enjoy.

What can we bring to the LORD?
      What kind of offerings should we give him?
Should we bow before God
      with offerings of yearling calves?
Should we offer him thousands of rams
      and ten thousand rivers of olive oil?
Should we sacrifice our firstborn children
      to pay for our sins?
No, O people, the LORD has told you what is good,
      and this is what he requires of you:
to do what is right, to love mercy,
      and to walk humbly with your God. (Mic. 6:6–8 NLT)

“For I know the plans I have for you," says the LORD. "They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope. In those days when you pray, I will listen. If you look for me wholeheartedly, you will find me. I will be found by you," says the LORD. (Jer. 29:11–14 NLT)

God does not want to hide from you. He desires an intimate relationship with you. So then why do we have to seek? God doesn’t work like we expect Him to. We find Him and His answers in the most unlikely places.

I publicly proclaim bold promises.
      I do not whisper obscurities in some dark corner.
I would not have told the people of Israel to seek me
      if I could not be found.
I, the LORD, speak only what is true
      and declare only what is right. (Isa. 45:19 NLT)

Jesus also speaks of bringing glory to God when we ask anything in Jesus’ name.
“You can ask for anything in my name, and I will do it, so that the Son can bring glory to the Father. Yes, ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it!” (John 14:13–14 NLT). Praying in Jesus’ name is remembering all the character traits of God, all the ways He has worked in the past, and what a difference it makes that Jesus died and paid for our sins. When we conduct our lives according to everything we know about His character, our expectations will be in line with the reality of who He is, and our hopes will not be disappointed.

Too often we are disappointed with God because He did not respond in a way we thought He should. We place expectations on Him that He has never promised to fulfill. And then in our frustration and disillusionment we whine that God is distant and uncaring. It is true that His ways are incomprehensible, but for some reason we think we have Him all figured out. “Oh, how great are God’s riches and wisdom and knowledge! How impossible it is for us to understand his decisions and his ways!” (Rom. 11:33 NLT).

As we live lives that are desperately dependent on Christ, the resulting connection will magnify the Lord. Realizing that our central focus of life is to make Him look wonderful, the dross of the world falls away. Our unified adventure with God supplies purpose and meaning to life. C. S. Lewis wrote, “But look for Christ and you will find Him, and with Him everything else thrown in.”

(excerpts from Desperate Dependency by J. Kirk & Melanie D. Lewis)