Why Do We Pray
The following is the recent article I wrote for the North River News.
The two verses that immediately precede The Lord’s Prayer in Matthew’s Gospel are: “When you are praying, do not heap up empty phrases as the Gentiles do; for they think that they will be heard because of their many words. Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him.” (Emphasis mine) Matthew 6:7,8 NRSV.
One might ask if God already knows my need, why do I need to pray? This is a legitimate question deserving an answer. The shortest answer is we don’t pray to inform God but for God to form us. The fact The Lord’s Prayer immediately follows these two verses certainly points in this direction.
We pray because we trust God is listening. Over the years I’ve had many opportunities to pray with people: in hospital rooms, funeral homes, homes, restaurants, churches and elsewhere. I’ve prayed in person, over the phone, via letters, notes, cards, email and more. Never once did I think I was giving God a heads up about the situation or person(s) I was praying for. But in every moment of prayer, I, and the people I was praying with or for, at some level, trusted God was listening. This act of trusting helps form us and develops our capacity for faith.
We also pray because God answers our prayers. Sometimes the answer is “yes”, sometimes “no”, and sometimes “not yet”. I have come to understand there is also a fourth way God answers our prayers – and that is: “not in the way you’re expecting.” Prayer helps form us as we learn to listen for God’s answer to our prayer. In this process of learning to listen, we often begin to see things from a different perspective or have our eyes (and hearts and minds) opened to new possibilities.
We also pray because it is essential in discovering, integrating, and implementing in our daily lives what it means to be a disciple of Jesus Christ. Many people can recite The Lord’s Prayer. There is, however, a big difference between reciting or saying it and praying it. An early church document used to teach would be converts, instructs them to pray this prayer three times a day. Of course, this has to do with developing the discipline of prayer, but it also helps us understand what following Jesus Christ means. In fact, the two cannot really be separated – they must be together – prayer and following.
For example, the pronouns are our and us, not my and me. They are inclusive not possessive. They lift us beyond ourselves. Also, the end of the first petition, “hallowed by Thy name” is not so much a request for God to do something for God, but a challenge for us, as those praying, to live our lives – our actions, thoughts, attitudes, beliefs, and priorities in ways that glorify and honor God. We quickly realize we cannot meet this challenge on our own, must have God’s help.
Why do we pray – to ultimately become who God intends us to be.
Grace and Peace, John