Why Do We Pray?

Writer

Updated June 03, 2021

Just pray about it. We have all been given this response as the solution to various trials. As believers, we preach that prayer is the answer, but do we fully believe in its power and purpose in our everyday lives?

In many ways, prayer can feel forced and even futile in light of God’s unchangeable will and His all-sufficient sovereignty. What is the point of praying if God already knows our every need (Matthew 6) and can see our hearts plainly (Psalm 139)? For many, the practice of prayer has become an unequal exchange full of unmet requests. Or maybe, prayer is much like an emergency number. When we are faced with fears or suddenly shaken by suffering, are we quick to ask God, in His power, to resolve our circumstances and realign our world?

Unfortunately, in all of these instances, prayer becomes minimized to a means of receiving something from God. The danger of this perspective is in its shallow and often shattered view of God’s character. I do not believe I am alone in saying that in certain seasons, I too have approached God with the presumption that His goodness was dependent on His answer to my petitions.

The reality of our world’s condition intensifies this distortion when we begin to believe the notion that suffering is evidence of His absence. What if it is not? What if it is our frame of reference that is discouraging our perception of God's power and presence?

Throughout Scripture, we read of countless men and women who sought the Lord fervently, pouring out their hearts in submission to God. Jesus Himself modeled the practice of prayer throughout his ministry, teaching His disciples to do the same. So, what are we missing? And why has holy intersession lost its wonder in the world today?

I believe our disenchantment is due to the lack of our spiritual awareness. For at the heart of both our petitions and praises is an invitation to meet with Jesus. As children of God, we have been given full access to our Heavenly Father through Christ. Prayer is, therefore, the process of abiding in Him (John 15). When we take time, listen, learn, and allow God into the depths of our hearts, we are transformed by the work of the Spirit within us into Christ's likeness. By recapturing this purpose of loving communion with God, we will come to rediscover the power and importance of being still with our Savior. So, let us look back to Scripture and reorient our perspectives to revitalize our practice of prayer.

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4 Purposes of Prayer

1. Prayer Is a Place of Honest Expression

“Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time he may exalt you, casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you” (1 Peter 5:6-7).

“Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 4:4-7).

When we experience the pain of suffering or the grip of anxiety, Scripture does not say to dismiss it, but rather to humble ourselves in every situation by bringing our burdens and requests to God. God cares about our challenges and His word invites us to share our struggles openly with Him with the expectation of His Fatherly affection and attention.

With this renewed purpose, prayer becomes a safe place to pour out hearts. We see this modeled for us by David throughout the Psalms. He wrote countless laments and songs of praise to the Lord, honestly exposing the depth of his emotions before God.

Ultimately, prayer gives our souls space to speak. When we come to Christ, we can freely grieve and give thanks.

Prayer invites us to question and cry out to the One who is near and worthy of all praise. It is in the presence of God we can fearlessly press into pain, knowing that God hears us, knows our need, and desires to comfort us with His goodness and grace.

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2. Prayer Is a Position of Surrender

In addition to honest communication with our Creator, prayer is also a position of surrender. It is here in the silence of our hearts we humble ourselves to God’s sovereign hand and hold fast to the promises that He has spoken to us through His word.

Jesus’ prayer in the Garden of Gethsemane is a powerful example of this posture. In Matthew 26:26-29, it says, “Then Jesus went with them to a place called Gethsemane, and he said to his disciples, ‘Sit here, while I go over there and pray.’ And taking with him Peter and the two sons of Zebedee, he began to be sorrowful and troubled. Then he said to them, ‘My soul is very sorrowful, even to death; remain here, and watch with me.’ And going a little farther he fell on his face and prayed, saying, ‘My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as you will.’”

Nevertheless, this heart-wrenching resolve is forged by the posture of full surrender to the Father’s will. To be faced with separation from God’s holiness, Jesus’ response was, what Peter Scazzero describes as holy indifference.

Romans 8:26-29 reminds us of this development of indifference saying,

“Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness. For we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words. And he who searches hearts knows what is the mind of the Spirit because the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God. And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose. For those whom he foreknew, he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, so that he might be the firstborn among many brothers."

As we are conformed to Christ, we learn to surrender our wills to our holy and loving Father. With this posture, we rediscover the freedom of surrendering to the sovereignty of our Savior. May we lean into the tension of this posture of full surrender, trusting that what God will, he works for our good and His glory.

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3. Prayer Is a Process of Becoming More Attuned to God’s Movement

Just like any intentional relationship, as we take time to be with Jesus, we become more aware of the ways He is working in and through our lives. We see this theme throughout several of the New Testament letters. The Apostle Paul often exhorts believers to dedicate themselves to the process of fervent prayer as a way of maintaining communication with the holiest and boldly believing in the movement of God within ordinary life.

Paul writes in Colossians 4, “Continue steadfastly in prayer, being watchful in it with thanksgiving.” This characterizes the process of our prayer life. To seek the Son and anticipate His goodness with gratitude for what He has done. The process of becoming like Christ hinges upon our connectedness to Him. He is the root of all good fruit and the source of our sanctification. Prayer shapes us and prepares us to be more attuned to the melody of mercy and more aware of Christ's work within our hearts. This process is what the Apostle Paul prayed for in Colossians 1:9-12 saying,

“We continually ask that you may be filled with the knowledge of his will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, to walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to him: bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God; being strengthened with all power, according to his glorious might, for all endurance and patience with joy; giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in light.”

If we desire to see God at work in us and through us, we must start with prayer. As we daily place our eyes on Jesus and seek spiritual wisdom and understanding, we will experience the work of God within our hearts and the world around us. For it is our Father who qualifies us and equips us.

4. Prayer Is a Practice of Pursuing God’s Presence

Ultimately, the most significant purpose of prayer is the pursuit of being in God’s presence. In moments of stillness and silence, we learn to regulate and realign our souls to rest in the source of our strength. One commentator describes this pursuit of God’s presence as unity of life. This unity of life is the heartfelt prayer of David in Psalm 27:4,

“One thing has I asked of the Lord, that will I seek after: that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to gaze upon the beauty of the Lord and to inquire in his temple.”

David’s prayer was not just words of spiritual desire. He says, “I ask” and I also “seek after” the presence of God. Is this the song of our souls also? Do we ask and seek to be connected with Christ all the days of our lives? This is the essence of prayer’s practice, to slow down and sit at Jesus’ feet. To linger in the Lord’s presence and grow daily more dependent.

So, whatever season we may find ourselves in, let us begin to pray in this way. May we learn to make prayer a safe place and whole-heartedly surrender to our Savior's will. May we gain endurance through the process of our awareness of God’s movement and never stop chasing moments to simply be found in His presence.

Carley Marcouillier: A northerner by heart southerner by choice, Carley currently calls Virginia her home. After completing her Master’s degree in clinical mental health counseling, Carley began to develop a passion for integrating the principles of counseling practice with the foundation of Christian theology. In addition to her clinical work, Carley is passionate about discussing topics of faith, theology, psychology, and everything in between on her social media platforms www.carleymarcouillier.com, Instagram, and Facebook

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