My friend Andy (pictured here!) raised a good question a couple of days ago by commenting on one of my posts concerning prayer:"Candy--your blog today brings up a point I have thought much about over the years. If God doesn't change his mind, then why pray? Typically, I find that folks ask for intervention (I know I do) but God is not going to do anything that he wouldn't already do--i.e. you cannot reason with God to get him to do something. I have thought that given this, the power of prayer is not that it changes God, but it changes you. What are your thoughts?"
There are probably a bazillion books written on this topic of prayer, and I don't presume to be any kind of 'expert" in this field. This in no way, though, stops me from having opinions! :-)
1. I think the main reason to pray is that God commands us to do so. In Luke 11:1-4, Jesus instructs His disciples to pray. He does so by saying "When you pray, say..." If Christ thought prayer was optional, He could have said "If you pray, say..." or "If you feel like it, say..." Likewise, the Apostle Paul says, "Pray without ceasing." Prayer is not just a good idea, it's mandatory.
2. As Andy suggests, prayer strengthens our relationship with God. Imagine a child who was unwilling to talk with his earthly father. How close could they be given that lack of communion?
3. Following a prayer pattern like ACTS (Adoration, Confession, Thanksgiving, and Supplication) causes our prayer to be more than just our request for intervention, and that's a good thing. A simple tool like ACTS can help us pray for more than ourselves.
4. God does listen to our prayers. Of course He will not ultimately change His decrees, but our heartfelt prayer and His willing response may be a part of His decrees. It is best not to second guess Him on this, but to ask, expecting that we will receive. If things don't happen in a way that we might like, we can still trust Him. He must have something better for us.
5. This all makes my brain hurt, but I think that despite the mystery of it all, Andy's point is one of the best ones. It is good to have communion with our God. Praying to our heavenly Father does indeed change us, and that is just what we need.
Another aspect is that praying to God according to the ACTS principle first, reminds us who GOD is; second, who WE are before a most Holy God; third,
ReplyDeletehow God answers prayer gives us a Thankful Heart for His faithful providences; fourth, prayer reminds us of our TOTAL dependence upon God for every good and perfect gift. Praise the LORD for prayer.
~Jeanette
I agree with all of you, I know that spending time in prayer softens my heart and opens it to hear God as He directs me. A thankful heart is received from prayer which helps us (His dicsiples) to extend the attributes of God, His love, forgiveness, gentle spirit, and even rebuilding of relationships which is so important to the one we serve. As I spend time visiting with Jesus at the throne of my heart, I am more agreeable to soften my will to the will of the Holy Spirit. When I miss my prayer time there seems to be a snowball effect where I miss it again and again until finally I am rolling out of control and it takes much effort and practice to come before our Holy and Almighty God again. Yes God commands us to pray, He has good reason for all that He commands us to do, so the only thing left to do is OBEY!
ReplyDeleteGreat discussion topic. DS
Candy and other posters--thank you for your thoughful comments. Sometimes I ask myself what good is prayer but you all have answered that question in ways I have not thought about in a long time. I think the fact that it strengthens ourselves by strengthening our communication with God makes prayer a powerful force in our lives.
ReplyDeletePeace to all--Andy