I’ve written before about why I pray. I am sure we all have different reasons at different times. Certainly, God’s Holy Word tells us we should pray, so that in itself is enough reason, right?
Yet why does God tell us to pray? Why would God want us to pray when he already knows all that we might say?
I believe it is to help us. There is a great benefit to giving voice to our praise and love of God as well as voicing our fears, our worries, our anger, our pain, and our regrets.
When we speak our joy in the Lord, when we shout our praise, we affirm it. We strengthen our resolve to walk righteously. We open ourselves in a fresh way to the Spirit of God. I think of David dancing on his journey to the Temple in celebration of the Lord.
When we give voice to our fear, worries, anger, pain, and regrets; when we confess our sins and lay them at the Cross, we find ourselves free from heavy burdens we have been carrying. We put ourselves in a better position to discern what God might desire our next steps to be.
We find ourselves praying when we are lost or discover ourselves or those we love in danger. We know we have a friend in Jesus, who searches for the lost sheep, who reaches out His hand and lifts us up when we are sinking. We pray to find our comfort, help, and guidance for our life from our merciful and almighty God.
We pray because it works! If you don’t believe me, look at these verses in your Bible: Matthew 17:14-21, 21:21-22; Mark 11:23; Luke 17:6. We are going to be studying more about prayer and how Jesus taught us to pray in Midweek Bible Study on Wednesday, February 15. I invite you to join us.
Let us pray daily for our church, for our life together as a church family at Faith, and for each other.
In His Love,
Pastor Peggy