The title of this short blog may have gotten your attention. A question that is asked sometimes is, “If God already knows what I need and what I’m going through, why bother to pray to Him?” Sometimes people may also think, “If God will do what He has already promised to do, why bother praying? It’s going to happen anyway, right?”
It is true our Heavenly Father knows what we need before we ask Him. In Matthew 6:8 Jesus said, “So do not be like them; for your Father knows what you need before you ask Him.” What a blessing to know our God sees what we experience.
It is also true our heavenly Father is faithful in every way. He is trustworthy, reliable, and does what He says He will do. In 2 Timothy 2:13 it says, “If we are faithful, He remains faithful, for He cannot deny Himself.” In Titus 1:2 Paul says, “In the hope of eternal life, which God, who cannot lie, promised long ages ago.”
While some may have this disposition of feeling like we don’t need to pray to God since He already knows that perspective is wrong. First, in Matthew chapter six, Jesus is teaching His disciples how to pray. The fact that Jesus is teaching how to pray means that His people must be people who pray to the Father diligently.
Secondly, in passages like 2 Samuel 7:18-29, we find King David praying the promises of God. In Nathan Ward’s book on prayer, “Our Eyes Are On You’ he states, “David is among those who pray the promises. He does not merely hint at the covenant by mentioning God’s covenant name or recalling God’s past dealings with His covenant people. Rather, he quotes God’s very promise back to him directly (vs 27) and indirectly (vv. 28-29). Miller says of this prayer what we have already seen multiple times and will continue to see throughout this study: David asks of the Lord what He has already promised, which ‘takes us right to the heart of Biblical prayer. Prayer is, in essence calling on Yahweh to do what He has said.’” [1]
We should pray because prayer is an expression of trust! “God’s promises are not to be received casually and in an entitled spirit, but with submissive thanksgiving. God is a relational being who wants relationships with His creation. One key element in all relationships is trust, particularly when one party is stronger than the other. How much more, then, is this the case when the one party is not merely stronger, but is God! Our expression of God’s promises to God himself is a way we remind ourselves of the one we trust in as we seek to align ourselves more to His will and less to our own.” [2]
Benjamin Lee
[1] Our Eyes are On You; Nathan Ward page 50.
[2] Ibid page 51