Why Pray?

Sometimes when I pray if I am not careful I can tend to view my prayer list as a "wish list" or a way to convince God of my perspective of why He should answer my prayer. This is unintentional.

I think my motives are meant well...see I am trying to pray more.

However, when I look at the true reason to pray, I realize I am being selfish in my prayer life. 

 God is not a genie in a bottle that we can just call on when ever we want something. Also, He is not going to change His sovereign plan because we try to convince Him that our plan is better than His.

These are the wrong reasons to pray.

I was listening to the radio broadcast of Turing Point with Dr. David Jeremiah and he was speaking on Prayer from the book of Daniel in the 9th chapter and how prayer effected Daniel's life.

Lately, I have been feeling that I have not had an effective prayer life because some of the major requests I have been praying about are still "unanswered".

I was worried and becoming discouraged!

So I decided to tune in and really allow the Holy Spirit to speak through him.

It's not that I don't enjoy listening to preaching, but some times when you hear a message about a subject that is often preached about you can zone out and not focus on the content of the message. I cannot tell you every detail of the message but I can tell you what the Holy Spirit spoke to my heart about.

"We pray so that we can prepare our hearts for His answer to our prayer".

When we pray we are not trying to "change" things. God already knows the outcome because He is sovereign. He is not surprised, shocked, or caught off guard when the answer is revealed.

I pondered this truth which is evident all throughout the Scriptures when God's people prayed. I started to pray and ask God to prepare my heart for His answer to my prayers.

 I know that God answers every prayer as yes, no, or not yet. However sometimes His no and not yet answers can be perceived as He doesn't care or is not interested in answering my prayer. (What a lie that Satan tells!)

God cares enough to give you His best which is why he says no or not yet. He wants to give you the desires of your heart and He longs for His desires to become your desires.

Christian Friends, as we continue to live life together in community may the truth in this post encourage your heart and help to strengthen your relationship with our Savior as we learn why we pray.

What other truths do you encourage your heart with concerning the matter of prayer?

Image:

http://www.timeanddate.com/holidays/us/national-day-prayer