A look into the nature of God’s will through prayer.
Have you ever wondered: why do we pray? If God has a plan and His will is going to be carried out, then what is the point of praying? Is it a therapeutic endeavor solely for our own consolation?
Every follower of Christ will at some point find themselves wondering about prayer: what it is, why we do it, does it do anything, how God reacts. These are very natural questions as we continually grow in our understanding of who God is and how to grow to be more like Him.
Praying has some surprising aspects that maybe you haven’t considered. We will take a look at just a few here and hopefully you will have been encouraged that prayer is a powerful and integral part of your relationship with God.
Prayer Reflects God’s Character and Nature
From the very beginning of man’s existence in the Garden of Eden, God brought Himself down into the garden to converse with Adam in the cool of the day to walk and talk with Adam and Eve. Prayer could be described simply as conversing with God, a natural reaching out in relationship. Having the God of the universe speaking with His created shows us His interest in and value of His beautifully created people. Prayer is at the same time an approaching right up to the very throne of the majestic king and not being afraid to speak to Him.
By being willing to spend time bending His ear to our prayers, we see just a bit of God’s character as a nurturing and interested teacher.
"And they heard the sound of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and the man and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God among the trees of the garden. But the Lord God called to the man and said to him, 'Where are you?'" Genesis 3:8-9 ESV
Adoption
When you are a follower of Christ and have received His gift of salvation, you are adopted into His family in the full meaning and legal sense of the word used in Greek. How sad it would be to have this marvelous gift and never talk to your heavenly father. Can you imagine not ever speaking to any relative: your mother or father, siblings, cousins even if they are right there in the room every day?
"What I am saying is that as long as an heir is underage, he is no different from a slave, although he owns the whole estate. The heir is subject to guardians and trustees until the time set by his father. So also, when we were underage, we were in slavery under the elemental spiritual forces of the world. But when the set time had fully come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under the law, to redeem those under the law, that we might receive adoption to sonship. Because you are his sons, God sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, the Spirit who calls out, “Abba, Father.” So you are no longer a slave, but God’s child; and since you are his child, God has made you also an heir. Galatians 4:1-7
Fatalism is depressing
One of the most common questions about prayer comes from the fatalistic idea that prayer is only for our benefit to “get it off our chests” so to speak. Does it really matter if we pray since God has His will and it will happen anyway?
Throughout the Bible, God shows us that He values His children and loves to involve them in His plans. His will is set but unlike a fatalistic view, His will doesn’t invalidate our prayers at all. God can choose any method or manner or means He chooses to accomplish His will.
Did you catch that? His will is going to be happen, but the means by which it happens can be conditional. Let’s take a look at just a few of the many examples of God’s will being set in motion by the means of prayer:
- King Hezekiah turned his face to the wall and prayed for healing. His healing came after he prayed for it. 2 Kings 20
- God looked for a faithful man to stand in the gap between the people and God’s judgement but found no one. Ezekiel 22:30
- Moses and the people cried out for water and for meat in the exodus. Exodus 17 and Exodus 16
- God involved Moses in the battle of the Amalekites by raising his arms. Exodus 17
- Abraham bargaining for the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah. Genesis 18
- Daniel’s 21 day prayer was heard and he was visited by the archangel Gabriel. Daniel 9
- Hannah’s prayer for a son. 1 Samuel 1
- Elijah and the rain. 1 Kings 18
- Jehoahaz and the King of Aram. 2 Kings 13
If King Hezekiah hadn’t prayed would he have died earlier? Maybe. We don’t know the mind of God and God’s will could have been to have Israel continue under a righteous king for a few more years. If King Hezekiah hadn’t lived, His will would still have been accomplished but maybe from a different source.
If Hannah hadn’t prayed for a son, would she have had one? Maybe not. If God’s will was for her to be blessed, she could’ve been blessed another way.
Are you seeing the difference between the means and the will?
And then there are the people being brought back from the dead or the brink of death or healed after someone prayed or interceded for them. Just a few examples:
- Zeraphath’s son, 1 Kings 17
- The Shunammite’s son, 2 Kings 4
- Lazarus, John 11
- Dorcas, Acts 9
How does this look for us in modern times? Let’s take a scenario of a man in a tribal village that has never been visited by outsiders. He looks up and ponders the skies and wonders about the great creator who put it there. He has a fleeting desire to know this creator, a deep sincere 2 second flit across his mind calling out to this unseen god. God sees this man’s thoughts and his 2 second flitting “prayer” deep in the vast forest and God’s will is that these people will know the gospel.
God could choose to visit this man in a dream or a vision. He could choose to use a miraculous natural event to inspire awe and reverence. He could choose to instill in this man a deep understanding. But, God might choose to answer this man’s fleeting thought by means of sending someone to reach this man and thus his whole village.
On the other side of the globe, a youth fresh out of college is praying for the Lord to direct the path he should choose and as he looks up, he sees a flyer for a new mission to an unknown forest area that has never been reached. For months, the nudging of this flyer never seems to leave the youth’s mind. It almost buzzes to the point of irritation.
Finally, as he follows the calling (that came after his prayer) an entire village is brought the good news. This youth is blessed with such a deep joy to see the look on the young village man who gives his life to the great creator God. As this village man suddenly remembers his fleeting desire to know this great sky creator many moons ago, he praises God for His answer.
What would’ve happened if this youth decided to go another route and not heed the nudging of the Holy Spirit to go minister to this village? Does that mean that the man in the remote forest will not hear the good news? No, God’s will is set for this tribal man to hear the gospel and he will send a person who will heed His calling.
The youth that chose not to go will not experience the incredible joy and blessing of being a part of God’s will and being a part of seeing God working in the world. Which brings us to the next reason we pray:
Honor, Privilege, Blessing
By drawing us in and interacting with us through prayer, this is bestowing an incredible honor and privilege. We get to see, observe, watch, be part of seeing the results of continued prayer for others and ourselves. Like the old saying of the giver being blessed more then the receiver, our faith and love our strengthened as we see Him working behind the scenes. He does not need our prayers but chooses to include them:
"Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective." James 5:16 NIV
Prayer is a Rescue Mission
Reaching out to God and accepting His free gift of salvation, repenting of our sins, and making Him our Lord is a rescue prayer of the highest importance in the first step of faith. Many times this is the first prayer someone speaks to God.
Other times, other times it is a fast under the breath call for help and rescue or a “prayer closet” prayer sent up for someone else:
"Let us then approach God’s throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need." Heb. 4:16 NIV
Heaven’s Incense
Your prayers don’t just evaporate into thin air when you are done. They are the very incense in front of the throne of God in heaven. Every little prayer spoken in the dark, shouted with emotion, whispered in earnest:
"And when he had taken it, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb. Each one had a harp and they were holding golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of God’s people." Rev. 5:8 NIV
The prayers of His children are the source of and part of a future taste of His fiery judgement:
"Another angel, who had a golden censer, came and stood at the altar. He was given much incense to offer, with the prayers of all God’s people, on the golden altar in front of the throne. The smoke of the incense, together with the prayers of God’s people, went up before God from the angel’s hand. Then the angel took the censer, filled it with fire from the altar, and hurled it on the earth; and there came peals of thunder, rumblings, flashes of lightning and an earthquake." Rev. 8:3-5 NIV
Command of the King
If we knew no other reason for prayer, just this one aspect would be enough. God does not ask us to pray or suggest it, He commands it. Just like a foot soldier may not know all the details or reasons of a military move when he is been given an order by his commander, he obeys in faith and trust all the same. How much more does our heavenly father care for us and know the best maneuvers to make?
"Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus." 1 Thess. 5:16-18 NIV
This very command shows His compassion for His creation and put our mind in the right direction of compassion for others also:
"When he saw the crowds, he had compassion on them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. Then he said to his disciples, 'The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field'.” Matt. 9:36-38 NIV
Thank you God for letting us pray to you. Amen and Amen
If you would like to know more about prayer, faith, and the Christian walk, Ligonier Ministries is a great place to start. Other articles you may be interested in:
