Prayer

Why pray? 

      That’s a key question on know many people have asked me throughout the years.  In fact, its a question I have even asked myself. How we answer it will inform our entire prayer life.  Most people would say that we pray to make things happen. One theologian says, “Prayer is God granting man the dignity of causality.” I think that means prayer gets things done. People pray; God moves; things happen. It makes sense.

     

        But other people say that prayer isn’t so much about making things happen as getting in touch with God. It’s not to change God or change the world, but to change us. The ultimate purpose of prayer is to bring our hearts into line with God’s, so that we think his thoughts and feel his feelings.

      

       Is prayer for the personal man or the community of faith? Is prayer a way of doing or a way of being? Or is it both? The Bible doesn’t seem to see this as an “either/or” dilemma but a “both/and” reality. Sure, prayer gets things done, but it works because the hearts of the pray-ers are synchronized with the heart of God. Prayer gets things done when it’s practiced “in the name of Jesus.” To pray in Jesus’ name is not to use a magical potion, but to pray with the vision and values of the Son of God. It’s to pray what Jesus would pray if he were in your shoes and on your knees.

      

      A great example of praying with God’s heart took place 2,000 years before Christ. In Genesis 18:17-21, God told Abraham what he intended to do to Sodom and Gomorrah, which was burn them to the ground. This revelation moved Abraham to intercede on their behalf. In one of the most famous bargaining session of all time, Abraham haggles for the lives of the entire population. He finally gets God down to ten righteous people—if just ten good people can be found in Sodom and Gomorrah, God will spare both cities. 

       Of course, the ten righteous people don’t exist. So God executes his judgment, although he does spare four righteous people, Lot and his family. So prayer got something done as Abraham aligned his heart with God’s. Moved by God to prayer in the first place, Abraham appealed to God’s justice, entreating him not to punish the righteous along with the wicked. God responded by sparing the lives of those who were still faithful to him. That’s godly, effective prayer in a nutshell.

       Lord help me to be a man of prayer.  Don't ever let my life get so busy that I forget that time with you is the most important thing.  I pray for our lives now, and ask for your guidance, direction, and will to be done.  Bless my family, our church, and help us bless those around us.  Thank you for hearing us when we pray!