IF GOD KNOWS AND SEES EVERYTHING, WHY SHOULD WE PRAY?
If God knows everything and is all-powerful, then when a prayer is answered, was it really answered—or did we simply pray for what was already God’s will? Put another way: if God already knows, why are we praying at all?
Jesus gave us the Lord’s Prayer, and we pray it because He taught us to pray that way. Through prayer, God invites us into His story, His life, and His world.
PRAYER IS NOT AN ATTEMPT TO CHANGE GOD
We often begin with the wrong idea of prayer. Prayer is not an attempt to change God or manipulate Him into doing what we want. It is not asking God to step onto our stage, where we are the main character and He plays a supporting role.
Prayer invites us to step off our stage and enter God’s story, where He is the center. Prayer transforms us. It draws us from God, make this happen toward Father, not my will, but Your will be done.
That is where peace begins to settle into our prayer life. We remember that God is good, powerful, wise, and loving. He wastes nothing. Even when His first answer and His final answer are not what we wanted, we can say, I trust You, God. That is not a flippant statement; many believers have learned it while walking through the darkest seasons of life.
PRAYER IS WORSHIP AND ALIGNMENT
Prayer is first and foremost worship. Jesus taught us to begin, “Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name.” Prayer aligns our lives with God’s purposes: “Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.”
Prayer is not merely submitting a wish list. Prayer is submitting myself to God. Yes, I have a prayer list, but the prayer beneath every request is, Father, not as I will, but as You will.
JESUS PRAYED, ‘YOUR WILL BE DONE’
Before His crucifixion, Jesus prayed in the garden, “My Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as you will.” Some Christians have told me that this is not a faith-filled prayer. But if Jesus prayed it, and Jesus is God and is perfect, then I am safe praying His prayer.
Jesus honestly expressed His desire to be spared the suffering of the cross, yet He entrusted Himself to the Father’s will. There is tremendous peace, power, rest, and freedom when we stop wrestling with God and simply say, Not my will, but Your will be done.
Prayer exposes the illusion that we are in control. We think we are in control, but that is a mirage. God is in control. Prayer is not our way of seizing control from Him; it is the place where we gladly surrender control to the One who knows, loves, and rules perfectly.
Bible References: Matthew 6:9-10 (ESV); Matthew 26:36-44 (ESV)
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