My beloved brothers and sisters in Christ,
When I began this entry, I knew it would be a long one. Because the topic of prayer is so unquantifiably important in every Christian’s life, it is a topic worth spending a good deal of time on. However, as I was writing it, I realized that it was becoming too long to read all at once, so I have decided to break it up into two parts, the second of which I hope to post in the next week or so.
As I mentioned, my topic for the next two weeks is the importance of prayer, and more specifically, why we should pray. I want to open by sharing a story that Dr. Don Wilton (the pastor of a church near my house) once told in a sermon.
When a Dr. Wilton's daughter, Shelley, was very young, she informed her father that she wanted a kitten. Dr. Wilton says that, in that moment, he became the “meanest, awfulest, most horriblest daddy in the whole wide world” when he put his foot down and said “absolutely not!” Shelley cried and carried on, but still he did not relent. One morning, he walked into his garage, and heard a scratching sound. He discovered that a mother cat had taken up residence in his garage, and given birth to five kittens! So of course, the first thing he did was to run into the breakfast room and exclaim, “Shelley! Look what your daddy has done for you!” Later that day, Dr. and Mrs. Wilton (as well as little Shelley) went to pick up a prospective church employee at the airport. On the way home, Shelley turned to the man and said, “Guess what? I wanted a kitten, and I prayed and prayed, and God sent me five kittens!” (At this point, Dr. Wilton's wife tapped him on the shoulder and said she hoped Shelley wasn’t praying for a little brother.)
Although God may not always be so quick to shower us with kittens, it is vastly important in every Christian’s life to come before the Lord in prayer. It is something none of us can do often enough, sincerely enough, or humbly enough, regardless of where we are in our spiritual journey.
So, why should we pray?
1.) We should pray to give glory to God.
Remember how Christ taught his followers the Lord’s Prayer as the template for how we should pray?
Our Father, which art in Heaven, hallowed be Thy name
Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done, on earth as it is in Heaven
Give us this day our daily bread
And forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us
And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil
For Thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, forever and ever, amen.
Only four requests are made (daily bread, forgiveness, avoidance of temptation, and deliverance from evil), and the rest of the prayer is simply adoration for God. This reflects a truly Christian frame of mind, seeing God’s glory as something that must be constantly acknowledged in our daily lives, simply for its own sake.
Another, more modern example is found in the beautiful song “Here I am to Worship”. You can watch the video, with the lyrics, courtesy of www.youtube.com.
Especially pay attention to the chorus:
“Here I am to worship
Here I am to bow down
Here I am to say that
You’re my God
You’re altogether lovely
Altogether worthy
Altogether wonderful to me”
This does a wonderful job of describing the state of a Christian’s heart when he or she is truly in a mindset to give glory to God. When you pray, whatever the prayer’s specific purpose may be, remember that first and foremost, you’re there to worship. You’re there to bow down. You’re there to give glory to the lovely, worthy, wonderful God you serve, and to praise His holy name.
2.) We should pray on behalf of others.
When someone is dealing with a problem, it's natural for us to want to help. How many times has a friend shared with you that they are going through a rough time, and you've said something like, "I'm sorry to hear that" or "I wish there was something I could do."
Well, I have a challenge for you. Next time, instead of just expressing sympathy, ask, "How can I pray for you?" That's what God wants- and, in fact, commands- us to do for our brothers and sisters. (James 5:16) We should pray for each other, in good and bad times.
3.) We should pray to request guidance, strength, comfort, and help.
I don’t think this could be addressed properly without quoting Psalm 121.
I lift up my eyes to the hills—
where does my help come from?
My help comes from the Lord,
the Maker of heaven and earth.
He will not let your foot slip—
He who watches over you will not slumber;
indeed, He who watches over Israel
will neither slumber nor sleep.
The Lord watches over you—
the Lord is your shade at your right hand;
the sun will not harm you by day,
nor the moon by night.
The Lord will keep you from all harm—
He will watch over your life;
the Lord will watch over your coming and goings
both now and forevermore.
Where does our help come from when we need it? It comes from the Lord! Who heals us when we’re sick? Who comforts us when we’re sad or angry? Who can help us with any problem in the world? The Lord! Look at all the things He does for us! And that’s by no means an exhaustive list, either. There’s an infinite number of things our God can be in our lives if we ask Him to. When we pray and ask Him for comfort, He gives us peace in our hearts which is so far beyond anything we can understand. (Philippians 4:6-7)
When we ask the Lord for help, we have to remember that He knows what He's doing. And while it's perfectly okay to tell Him how we feel, and make requests, it's not our place to tell God what to do. There are times when we ask God to intervene, and He doesn't. But it's in those times when we feel like He's not listening that He actually has much greater plans to bless us and help us than we could ever imagine. We can be confident that He hears us when we pray. (1 John 5:14-15)
Well, brothers and sisters, there’s three good reasons to pray. Four more are coming in the next post. God bless you all.
~BYR
[you can find Part II here.]
