Why pray?

Every Christian knows that prayer often seems like hit and miss. I am comforted somewhat by the reality that God always answers; it is either Yes, No, or Wait, but my impatience isn’t always happy about it. Is there a secret to seeing more prayers answered? Or am I rolling dice?

Prayer is a mystery anyway. Why would the Creator God ask us to talk to Him about our needs when He has already promised to take care of them? Why should we pray when He is sovereign and is working out His plan for this world? Most of the things I ask God for are things that He wants more than I do, so why do I need to ask Him? I know that I cannot talk Him into doing anything He will not do, and if He is already going to do it, why do I need to ask Him to do it?

Today I read these verses from 1 John: “Now this is the confidence that we have in Him, that if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us. And if we know that He hears us, whatever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we have asked of Him” (1 John 5:14-15).

My first thought is prompted by that word “confidence” which says a great deal about why I pray. Life is a complex and sometimes terrifying thing. When I take my questions and complexities to God, those frowns and fears began to relax because I know He is listening. Modern psychotherapy methods might be based on this principle. We need to voice our concerns and be heard. Otherwise they bottle up inside and grow, turning us into a troubled mess. Besides, this is Almighty God that I talk to, and His is not passively listening, but actively ready to do what I ask.

Another important phrase in these verses is, “according to His will.” This holds the promise of actually learning and knowing the mind of God! That is staggering. I know what I want all too well. I can sometimes figure out what my husband wants, or my family, or friends want, but to know what God wants is an incredible thought.

The will of God isn’t just the obvious that I can deduce from His promises and commands. I know He wants me to worship Him, to have no other gods. I know that I am not supposed to kill people or steal their possessions. I know I am supposed to be kind and joyful and good to my neighbors. His Word tells me all this and more, so praying according to His will is helped by knowing what His book says, yet there are situations in life that do not have a chapter and verse.

For instance, in these days of financial downturn, do I shuffle my investments? Or do I wait and see if they will recover? Do I “trust God” and spend as if there are no problems? Or do I use the common sense He gave me and sit on my money? What is the will of God in these things? And how do I find out what He wants?

Another phrase catches my attention, “we know that He hears us.” This implies that I must say something. Sometimes we “have not because we ask not” and wonder at His silence. That is not the best plan. He will hear, but I need to give Him something to hear. He wants me to talk to Him. Even that invitation is a marvel. God asks me to talk to Him! Wow!

Last week before I went to bed one night, I offered two requests. I’m doing an oral presentation in May and wanted to know what to say about myself at the beginning, and how to integrate two parts of the material that I am supposed to present. God answered, this time in a way He has never done before. He gave me a dream.

I was on the platform before a microphone. I spoke the beginning of my presentation and started into the rest of it, then I woke up. I grabbed a notebook and wrote what I had dreamed, totally amazed at the clarity of the dream and how it made perfect sense (which is often not the case with my dreams).

Both requests were answered and I’m still amazed. This is as close as He has ever come to “leaving a note on my night table” and I am convinced that I can depend on Him to help me with the remaining preparation needed for this task. I already knew it was His will that I do this thing, and although I’m still wondering about other things in my life, in this particular challenge God has proven to me that I can ask according to His will and He will hear and answer my requests.