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Why Pray?
 What is the point of prayer when God knows the future and is already in control of everything? If we cannot change God’s mind, why should we pray?
We pray for a variety of reasons. For one thing, prayer is a form of serving God and obeying Him. We pray because God commands us to pray. Prayer is exemplified for us by Jesus and the early church. If Jesus thought it was worthwhile to pray, we should also. If He needed to pray to remain in the Father’s will, how much more do we need to pray?
Another reason to pray is that God intends prayer to be the means of obtaining His solutions in a number of situations. We pray in preparation for major decisions; to overcome demonic barriers; to gather workers for the spiritual harvest; to gain strength to overcome temptation; and to obtain the means of strengthening others spiritually.
We come to God with our specific requests, and we have God’s promise that our prayers are not in vain, even if we do not receive specifically what we asked for. He has promised that when we ask for things that are in accordance with His will, He will give us what we ask for. Sometimes He delays His answers according to His wisdom and for our benefit. In these situations we are to be diligent and persistent in prayer. Prayer should not be seen as our means of getting God to do our will on earth, but rather as a means of getting God’s will done on earth. God’s wisdom far exceeds our own.
A lack of prayer demonstrates a lack of faith and a lack of trust in God’s Word. We pray to demonstrate our faith in God, that He will do as He has promised in His Word and bless our lives abundantly more than we could ask or hope for. May God glorify His name in our lives as we believe in Him enough to come to Him often in prayers.
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