The Purpose of Prayer

Last month I wrote about making prayer a priority in our lives. I continue to explore the mystery of prayer. I wonder why God created prayer in the first place. Why did he make a way for us to communicate with him? Why does God want us to pray? It is hard to comprehend.

A few nights ago I was settling in for the evening and reached for the remote to the TV. I was tired from the day and looking forward to a relaxing evening catching up on my favorite shows. I was about to press the power button when I sensed God speaking to me, calling me to spend some time with him in prayer. I paused and set down the remote. It was odd. I had no needs. There was nothing pressing in my life. I wasn’t stressing over anything. But I clearly felt God’s pulling me aside to connect with him. Why was God calling me aside to pray when there was nothing I needed to pray about? This was the moment I realized I was looking at prayer from my own perspective. What if I were to look at prayer from God’s perspective?

We tend to think of prayer as our way of communicating with God. We know God wants us to bring our requests to him. Paul wrote, “Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God” (Philippians 4:6, ESV). John further encourages us to bring our requests to God when he wrote, “And this is the confidence that we have toward him, that if we ask anything according to his will he hears us. And if we know that he hears us in whatever we ask, we know that we have the requests that we have asked of him” (1 John 5:14-15, ESV). So, yes, we should bring our requests to God.

But what if we were to look at prayer from God’s perspective? Why did God create prayer? Is it merely for us to bring our requests to him? Is it only for our benefit? What if God created prayer for his benefit? What if he wanted to reconnect with the creation he loves?

It is helpful to consider the idea of prayer in the context of our relationship with God. God loves us. He loves us even when we are separated from him by our sin. Because he loves us so much, he sent his own son to pay the penalty for our sin through his death on the cross. When we accept this gift of forgiveness for our sins, we begin a relationship with God. Yes, God does this for our benefit. We benefit greatly! But what if we were to view salvation from God’s perspective? A relationship benefits both parties. What if God does this for his benefit as well? What if God created a way to forgive us for our sins because he longed to reconnect with us?

How does this relate to prayer? Again, our natural tendency is to think prayer is all about us. It is our way of bringing our requests to God. But what if we were to look at it from God’s perspective. What if prayer were also for God’s benefit? What if God created prayer so he could commune with his creation until we were finally together face to face? What if God calls us aside to pray not because we have something we need, but because he wants to spend some quality time with us?

When we view prayer only from our own perspective, it reveals a flaw in our understanding of our relationship with God. Imagine a husband and wife settling in for the evening. The wife leans over to her husband and says, “Can we leave the TV off? I want to talk.” The husband pauses and says, “Why do you want to talk to me when I don’t need anything?” Ouch. I do not recommend this! Clearly, this relationship is in trouble! But when we consider our relationship with God in this context, then we understand how silly it is if the only time we speak to him is when we need something.

In this situation, we pray because God enjoys the time with us. We commune with him. We sit with him as lovers sit together and enjoy a sunset. We enjoy his presence and relish his love for us. We tell him how much we love him. We sit in silence and listen for his still small voice in our spirit telling us how much he loves us. We have no needs because of his kindness. We thank him for his faithfulness and kindness to us. And on and on.

That evening, when God called me aside to pray, it was a precious time with him. I relished his presence. I loved on him for his kindness to me. I enjoyed the time with him immensely. I suspect he enjoyed it as well.

I challenge you to carve out some time when you can spend time with God without asking him for anything. Use this time to tell him why you love him. Yes, God wants us to bring our needs to him. Do so. But sometimes God just wants to spend time with the ones he loves. Spend time with him today.

I always enjoy reading your comments. Feel free to post your thoughts below.