Sep 29, 2023 More Reasons to Pray – Words of Grace – September 29, 2023
The feedback I received from last week’s Words of Grace lets me know that I am not alone in asking why I pray. Apparently, that question resonates with some of you. Gratefully, you are still praying.
Last week I mentioned three reasons to pray having to do with the existence and ways of God. Let me share with you three more reasons to pray that are about the love of God for us.
We pray because God is our Father who communicates with us. Unlike an idol or an idea, God is a person. He speaks. He listens. He interacts with his children because he loves us.
God is our Father, and we are his children. That means we are not equals with him. We don’t communicate with God to get him to see things our way, to change his mind, or to show him he is wrong. When we pray, we are talking to God who is wise, right, and good. Knowing this keeps us praying without the pressure of convincing and controlling him, two things that strain our communication with others.
Prayer is not like human-to-human communication. It’s so much better than that. When we communicate with God our Father through reading the Bible and responding to him in prayer, we have absolute confidence in his love, attention, and kind intentions toward us. We can’t say that about any other person we talk to. As close as they are to us, they are still human. Being human, they can mishear, misunderstand, and misjudge us in conversations. But God never misses anything. He knows, speaks, hears, and responds perfectly. In love, God perfectly communicates with us through his word and prayer. His love keeps us praying.
We pray because God our Provider meets our needs. Jesus was very clear in telling us to ask the Father for what we need, and to ask because the Father loves us and cares about us (read Matthew 6, Luke 11, Luke 18).
But if we already have what we need, why pray? First, to acknowledge that what we have is from God. Second, to keep our hearts in a humble and dependent state. Third, to continue to receive from God who loves us and provides for us.
We pray because God our Redeemer shapes our hearts to be like Christ. We are saved by grace through faith in Christ for the purpose of becoming like him (Romans 8:29-30). Our conformity to Christ is the work of the Spirit carried out by interacting with us. He leads us into knowledge, wisdom, purity of heart, faith, hope, love, courage, and service to others as we live in his presence with a listening and responsive attitude. His great and precious promises shape our character as we access them in prayer, and they lead us on in faithfulness. Do you experience this kind of soul interaction with your heavenly Father? He loves you and is calling you into the life of his Son Jesus Christ.
This weekend, see how great a love the Father has for you, and keep praying.
-Scott