Front Page 

        

A series that helps consider difficult questions of the Christian faith

  

I'm told that God knows every word that I'm going to speak ( Psalm 139:4 ), so what's the point of praying? What is prayer after all?

 

   

Answer:

Yes, it is true that the Psalmist said that the Lord knew every word before he spoke it, but that doesn't matter.

The Bible also indicates that God knows the future and knew it from before the foundation of the world (Ephesians 1:5 and Ephesians 1:11) but that again doesn't matter.   The reality is that you have a need to pray.

   

    

Pray out of a Relationship

If we have a relationship with someone we talk to them.

If we have a relationship with God, we will talk to Him.  Prayer is simply talking to God.

We may request things, simply talk over things with God, plead on behalf of others, or just give thanks (see 1 Timothy 2:1 ),  but it is still just talking to God.

   

  

The Bible and Prayer

Throughout the Old Testament people prayed.

In the New Testament Jesus prayed (Luke 3:21,  5:16,  6:12,  9:18,  9:28,  11:1,  22:41).

The early church prayed (Acts 1:14,  1:24,  2:42 etc. etc.).

Jesus also taught about prayer (Matthew 5:44, 6:6,7,9,  Mark 11:24,25,  Luke 18:1)

The apostles taught about prayer (e.g. 1 Timothy 2:1,2,   Philippians 4:6,7,    James 5:13,14)

    

  

Yes, but what's it about?

So yes, there is a lot about prayer in the Bible, but what is it all about?

Why pray?   Because, as we said above, we have a need to pray.  It doesn't matter if God knows everything you're going to say. 

The important thing is that you open your mouth and say it.

•   It may be you pray just because it seems the natural thing to do.

It may be that in the act of praying you somehow draw closer to God, bringing the material realm and spiritual realm closer.

Very often it's when Christians are praying that they have ideas, pictures, a sense of God's will and purpose that they didn't have before.

The very act of praying seemed to take them into "God's presence" that not praying didn't!

Perhaps prayer is more for your benefit than God's!

For a muchfuler approach to prayer, go to our Prayer Seminar Series