Harry: Christopher can scoff, Jack, but I know how hard you've been praying; and now God is answering your prayers.
C. S. Lewis: That's not why I pray, Harry. I pray because I can't help myself. I pray because I'm helpless. I pray because the need flows out of me all the time, waking and sleeping. It doesn't change God, it changes me.
A question I have been asked a few times through the years, and that I must address as a father is, "Why do we pray?" Of course there are books written on the subject, but I have a few ideas that I generally share.
Why We Pray
- We pray because God commands us to pray:
pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you. 1 Thessalonians - 5:17 ESV
- We pray because it provides a means of communication to the creator. Jesus Christ used this means to communicate with his Father, and even provided us with a template to follow when we approach Him in prayer:
Pray then like this: “Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name. Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. - Matthew 6:9-13 ESV
- Prayer is not designed to change God. Prayer should change us:
If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him. But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea that is driven and tossed by the wind. - James 1:5-6 ESV
- The focus of prayer should be on bringing glory to God:
But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you. - Matthew 6:33 ESV
Note that I am providing a single verse as a jumping off point, but there are multiple verses for each of these concepts. Always look for verses. If you have a single verse to support a particular theological position it quickly becomes problematic.
Why We Do Not Pray
When I wrote the first part of these thoughts almost a decade ago, a friend responded with a good point when he said, "I think it might also be helpful to explore why we don't pray." Here are a few possible reasons why we do not pray.
- Idolatry i.e. our family, job, community, and entertainment take the place of God.
- We give up. It is said that God answers all prayers with one of three answers: yes, no, or later, and I think this is a fair assessment. Many times the answer to our prayers is "no" because we are asking for the wrong things, or "later" because the timing belongs to God. This can tempt us to simply stop praying.
- We do not pray because of doubts leading from the realization that we cannot fully understand how prayer works within the Christian worldview. There are reasons that entire books have been written about prayer.
- We do not pray for one of the reasons above, but disguise it as trust. "God is in control, there is no reason for me to worry about prayer."
- We do not pray because of feelings of guilt. We feel as if we do not deserve to commune with God. This is true in essence, but fortunately the problem has been solved by Christ.
Just to add a personal level to the discussion (not that there is likely to be one), I pray very short prayers, and not many of them. My primary reasons are doubts and guilt. It is indeed unfortunate that humans have a proclivity for knowing what is right, and yet ignoring it.
Why We Should Not Pray
- We should not pray because we are expecting God to bring us personal health, wealth, and prosperity for the sake of health, wealth, and prosperity. Joel Osteen has a habit of making me throw up in my mouth a little. That is all I will say about why we should not pray. I think most of the incorrect motivations for prayer flow from this.
Obviously, if you are not a follower of Christ you are welcome to add your thoughts, but I am not particularly interested in Christian apologetics at this point. This is geared basically toward those that are followers of Christ or are interested in theology proper in general.