Introduction
I’ve been a Christ-follower for close to sixty years, yet this question has entered my mind more than I want to admit. I have to confess this question was on my mind more as a young believer than it is now. In my “so-called” maturity, I think I may have the answer…….maybe?
Unfortunately, this question reveals much more about the question-asker than it does about God himself. It is the proverbial spinning and forming pot on the fast-moving wheel questioning the Master Potter why His hands are fashioning him/her the way He is. How do we as the pot enter into the mind of the Potter? We can’t…apart from revelation from the Spirit and His Word.
The answer to this question is only to be found by entering into a true understanding of God’s character. What would be the first words that enter your mind if you were asked to describe God? Whatever your answer is will dictate how you approach God and your relationship or lack of relationship with Him.
Now when I pray I never use the word “God” when coming to Him for conversation. As I have changed and hopefully matured in my faith I see Him so differently than in times past. Now when I pray, He is “Father” to me. This says it all, at least to me, why He wants me to pray, to have conversation with Him.
"The right way to pray is to stretch our hands and ask One who we know has the heart of a Father." Dietrich Bonhoeffer
In this letter to my earthy father, Pops, the discussion is about the answer to this question: Why does God want me to pray?
This letter was written to my father on January 24, 2018.
If God is really God, why does He want me to pray?
The effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much. James 5:16
Hey Pops,
Why does our omnipotent, omniscient and omnipresent Father command us, His children, to pray? He didn’t need to set up this unique prayer dynamic to direct His work and establish His will here on this earth. Yet, the need for prayer is clearly stated. It is the paradigm He has set up. He has chosen to work His will through prayer. That is a fact. Let’s not argue about it. Let’s not wait till we understand it. Let us move forward, in faith, that this explicit call to pray is His expressed design for His believing church.
James’s words here, if we don’t understand them, can give us pause as believers to pursue a vibrant prayer life. There is a tendency for us to say “No wonder why God doesn’t answer me, I’m not righteous enough for Him to hear and answer me.” Or, “When I am more righteous, I will begin to pray.”
Let’s get one thing clear. We will never be righteous enough in ourselves to warrant Father’s attentive ear and response. Never! “My righteousness is as filthy rags,” so said the prophet Isaiah. Isaiah 64:6. I guess mine isn’t good enough either.
The only righteousness I have is the righteousness I have through the atoning and cleansing work of Jesus. “God made him who had no sin to be sin, so that in Him we might become the righteousness of God.” 2 Corinthians 5:21 NIV. I am righteous! But only through Jesus. And if I am righteous, then I have the foundation to pursue a powerful and effective prayer life.
Oswald Chambers: “A prayer offered by the humblest and most obscure saint on the ground of the redemption of Jesus Christ demands the complete attention of God and the performance of His program.”
God wants me, in my righteous position, to pursue prayer to effectively bring His Kingdom here. This is His desire and our privilege. Think about it! Father God Creator wants to partner with me to bring about His will. Sobering. And if I do not pray, I am hindering Him from doing so. That is why prayer is “the work” above anything else we can “do” for Father.
Is it no wonder that Father has designed prayer to be the vital part of our relationship with Him? I couldn’t picture being Taylor’s and Monique’s dad and not having great and intimate conversations with them. Is our Heavenly Father any different? He is all about relationship. How can I have relationship with Him daily without conversation? The most enjoyable aspect of Cindy’s and my marriage has been conversation. We can sit on the sofa for hours and talk. This emotional connection gives life to all the other aspects of our marriage. If conversation is an indicator of the depth of a relationship, what does my prayer (conversation) life say about my relationship with Father God?
If I don’t like the current status of my relationship with Father, I need to talk to Him about it. I need to learn to talk to Him in an intimate way; what good is relationship without intimacy? It’s up to me. He is waiting. Patiently with love, He is waiting. He will never force us to talk (pray). Yet, as any loving father, He waits, jealous of those things that pull us away from intimacy. His perfect love dictates that He will always be there to take up conversation with us.
"Is prayer your steering wheel or your spare tire?" Corrie Ten Boom
To my children, I would charge them with this essential directive. Learn to pray! Strive to pray. Don’t worry if it is uncomfortable. Push through it. Pursue it like it is precious gold. He is waiting for you. There will be nothing else you can do in your life to bring more hope, joy, confidence and peace into your life than having an intimate prayer (conversational) life with Father. It will allow you to live behind enemy lines with strength and victory.
Oswald Chambers: “The greatest answer to prayer is that I am brought into a perfect understanding with God, and that alters my view of actual things.
Love you Dad!
Comments are welcome below!
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