By Dr. Jim Roane,
BA, MACM, PhD
Have you every
wondered, “Why does God ask us to pray?” If God is all powerful and knows all
the answers, and He really loves us, “Why does God ask us to pray?”
Jesus told His
disciples that “... men ought always to pray and not lose heart ... ” (Luke
18:1). From time to time, throughout His Jesus' ministry He urged His disciples
to pray. Why did He do that? Obviously, it was not for them to just express
their wishes, or personal desires! Jesus never encouraged anyone to think of God
as some kind of cosmic Santa Claus. No, as a matter of fact, Christ showed us
the example by praying on that fateful night in the Garden of Gethsemane ,
“Father, not my will, but Thine be done.”
Could the answer
to Christ clear instruction “that men ought always to pray, and not faint” be
found in the Lord's Prayer?
Dr. Henry T.
Blackaby, author of Experiencing God, this to say:
“In the middle of
Jesus' Sermon on the Mount, he gives a long and careful word on prayer (Matthew
6:5-15). The heart of it all is His “model prayer,” which begins: “Our Father,
who art in heaven, hallowed be Your name. Your kingdom come. Your will be done
on earth as it is in heaven....” Examining the text carefully we notice that the
heart of prayer is God the Father. Thus, prayer must first focus on God rather
than ourselves. Our prayer should be for God's name and full character to be
revealed clearly. We then pray for His will -- not our will -- to be done and
that God express His will “on earth” in the arena of our lives. We should desire
that heaven's will be done where we live.
“When our prayer
is God-centered, God reveals Himself and His heart for all to see. When we pray
for God to work mightily for Himself alone, He does. God can then work through
the prayer lives of His people to make Himself known to a watching world. And
when He does He is glorified! That is, He is seen in His activity for who He is,
and this will draw people to Himself. Not all will be "saved," but all will know
Him in one way or another. So we must model Jesus' prayer faithfully before we
make any request for God to “bless us” and meet our needs.
“I have noticed
that when people know that I am a child of God they watch to see what God does
when I pray. Therefore, I pray with Him in mind so that when He answers my
prayer HE is the focus of attention for everyone to see. Our desire should
always be that God is seen and loved and followed by others because of what He
is doing when we pray. And this, of course, is especially true when we live out
our lives and prayer in our families and in our workplaces. Those around us
every day, who should know us as Christians, will know when we pray and what God
does when we pray. They will not be drawn to us, but to God -- whom we serve.
And when they see God working, He will be honored and glorified!”
So, what Dr.
Blackaby is reminding us of is that prayer has a focus and a purpose. The focus
is God …not us; and the purpose is to know the will of God … not ours! It is not
a matter of what we can do for God, but what His purposes are for His people,
including each of us. “Seek ye first the kingdom of God , and his righteousness;
and all these things shall be added unto you. (Mt: 6:33)” is the clear message
of Christ. The focus is always God. And, to answer the question: “Why does God
ask us to pray?” The answer is: Because He wants us to know God, and what His
will is.
Jim M. Roane
Prayer