I Need Prayer

"Oh, no!" I can hear some say with a title like that, "Stan might have COVID!" No. Relax. But I do need prayer. And I mean that in two different ways. I'm sure the first that came to your mind is, "Oh, Stan has something he needs people to pray for him about." Yes. That's one. I have lots of things and concerns about which I pray and I need people to come alongside and join me in that prayer. We all need that. But I mean it in the other sense as well. I need prayer. For me, for my life, for my well-being, I need prayer. That is, prayer itself is something I need. And so does every believer.

Perhaps you haven't run into this yourself, but, as it turns out, prayer is a bit of a conundrum. Thinking from God down, we know that God is Omniscient and Omnipotent and Sovereign. We get that. Jesus's disciples said, "We know that You know all things.' (John 16:30) John wrote, "God is greater than our heart and knows all things." (1 John 3:20) David wrote, "Your eyes have seen my unformed substance; and in Your book were all written the days that were ordained for me, when as yet there was not one of them." (Psa 139:16) He knows everything -- past, present, and future -- and He knows it perfectly. And we know He will do what He will do. The psalmist wrote, "Our God is in the heavens; He does whatever He pleases." So ... why pray? I mean, it's not like we can change His mind (1 Sam 15:29); He already knows everything perfectly. It's not like we can change His will; He does whatever He pleases. We can't present Him with new information -- "Oh, thanks, I never thought of that." Not going to happen. So ... why pray? And, yet, we also know that we are commanded to pray (e.g., 1 Thess 5:17; Luke 18:1; Heb 4:16; 1 Tim 2:1; James 1:5; Php 4:6-7; etc.) It is expected and required that we do this thing that appears to be an exercise in futility.

So why pray? Obviously most clearly because we're commanded to. "Because I said so," is a valid and compelling answer, especially coming from God. But are there other reasons? I think so, and that's why I say I need prayer.

I need to pray because it solidifies my relationship with Him. Talking with Him, spending time with Him, conversing, sharing, expressing my thoughts and feelings with Him, these things all make what is a somewhat ethereal relationship more real. I need to pray because it alters my perspective. Not His, mine. It directs me to Him -- points me to His will, His concerns, His aims. Sometimes when I pray I detect errors in my own thinking. I need that. I need to pray because it endears Him to me. That is, as I lean on Him and express myself to Him and talk with Him, I become more enamored with Him. I love Him more. I need to pray because it engenders trust in Him. I have my concerns and I give them to Him because He can do what is necessary and always will do what is right and I can trust Him to do that. The more points of contact I have in that process, the more "trust interactions" I have. I need to pray because it constantly points my heart to what is real. Without prayer, I tend to think I'm doing it. I'm supplying the needs, I'm handling the situations, I'm responsible for it all. I'm not. Prayer serves to constantly remind me that I'm a participant, not the ultimate power or provider. And along those lines, I need to pray because God has offered it as a means to join Him in His work -- to participate in what God is doing. When God answers a prayer of mine, there is a sense of "Yes! I got to be a part of what God was doing in this!" I need that as well. I need to pray because it reminds me of my limitations in contrast to His magnificence.

Praying changes me. It doesn't change God -- His mind, His plans, His will -- but it changes me. It changes me in ways I need to be changed and the more I do it the more these necessary changes occur. Prayer is not about bullying God or getting God to do what I want or making God my butler. Successful prayer is not just the prayers to which He answers, "Yes." Prayer is successful in its obedience to God's commands, in its correctives to my erroneous thinking, and in its reinforcement to right thinking about and relationship with God. It is successful if it adds to my relationship with God. In all of this, then, I need prayer. All the time. Constantly. Without ceasing. So, pray for me because I need prayer ... in both senses.

Prayer reminds us who we are, and who our Father is. Prayer expresses our dependence and it reinforces our dependence. —Alistair Begg