“And because you are sons, God has sent forth the Spirit of His Son into your hearts, crying out, 'Abba, Father!'"
October 28, 2020
People ask, “Should we pray when God already knows our needs? Why tell Him what He already knows? Or ask Him to do what He already wants to do?” We don’t pray to impress God or to inform Him. You can’t tell God anything He doesn’t already know. So why are we praying?
For fellowship. We invite God into our lives when we pray. We experience fellowship with Him, becoming “…workers together with Him…” (2 Corinthians 6:1). When we pray, God gives us the privilege of administrating His affairs. Of course, He could do it without us. But what joy that God allows us the privilege of doing it with Him.
For our growth. When we pray, God is growing us. Have you ever prayed and didn’t immediately receive what you asked for? What did you do? You kept on praying, but you also began searching your heart to see if something was hindering God’s answer. Many times there is. God uses prayer to grow us.
For dependence. Our Father never wants us to live independently from Him. If God just did everything for us and we never had to pray, soon we would begin to take things for granted. We would cease to depend upon God.
He knows what we need before we ask, but we’re told to pray and to ask—so we would have fellowship with Him, so we would grow, and learn to depend upon Him.
You don’t have to understand everything about prayer in order to pray. You may have valid questions about prayer, but don’t let your questions keep you from praying.
I try to unplug each morning with Jesus with just my rocking chair, my Bible, and a pen.
Having a secret place is very important because I know that Jesus is always there waiting for me. I know where I can find Him! His presence is everywhere, but there are places where it is so thick you can cut it with a knife. You may not even have a front porch, but there is a secret place for you as well. God’s invitations are for anyone who will respond. There is no more important request than the one found in Psalm 27:8: “My heart has heard You say, ‘Come and talk with Me.’ And my heart responds, ‘Lord, I am coming.’”