The Purpose of Prayer

August 28th, 2012 by JDVaughn Leave a reply »

. . . one of His disciples said to Him, ’Lord, teach us to pray . . .’ —Luke 11:1


Prayer is not a normal part of the life of the natural man. We hear it said that a person’s life will suffer if he doesn’t pray, but I question that. What will suffer is the life of the Son of God in him, which is nourished not by food, but by prayer. When a person is born again from above, the life of the Son of God is born in him, and he can either starve or nourish that life. Prayer is the way that the life of God in us is nourished. Our common ideas regarding prayer are not found in the New Testament. We look upon prayer simply as a means of getting things for ourselves, but the biblical purpose of prayer is that we may get to know God Himself.

“Ask, and you will receive . . .” (John 16:24). We complain before God, and sometimes we are apologetic or indifferent to Him, but we actually ask Him for very few things. Yet a child exhibits a magnificent boldness to ask! Our Lord said, “. . . unless you . . . become as little children . . .” (Matthew 18:3). Ask and God will do. Give Jesus Christ the opportunity and the room to work. The problem is that no one will ever do this until he is at his wits’ end. When a person is at his wits’ end, it no longer seems to be a cowardly thing to pray; in fact, it is the only way he can get in touch with the truth and the reality of God Himself. Be yourself before God and present Him with your problems— the very things that have brought you to your wits’ end. But as long as you think you are self-sufficient, you do not need to ask God for anything.

To say that “prayer changes things” is not as close to the truth as saying, “Prayer changes me and then I change things.” God has established things so that prayer, on the basis of redemption, changes the way a person looks at things. Prayer is not a matter of changing things externally, but one of working miracles in a person’s inner nature.

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Journal Entry-JDV

Lord, thank you for this lesson that reminds us that our circumstances matter, not at all.  Doing your will regardless of our circumstance shall put us in a state of joy. Most of us are chasing joy, or are simply trying to chase the fear of our circumstances away. Over time it is finally starting to sink in Lord, that if
we seek you and seek to do Your will, we will find joy, and a peace that passes all understanding, as you meet all our needs ….

And God says…” Yes that is the story. Jesus is the water that quenches your thirst. He is the bread that satisfies your hunger. Seek Him, and be saved from concerns about your needs. You will still have needs, but you will also have the absolute certainty that I am meeting all your needs, all the time, according to My riches in Glory.  Trust in Me with all your heart and do not rely on your own understanding (or circumstances) and I will make your paths straight”.

 

 

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