Why Pray?

Why Pray?
And I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Son may bring glory to the Father. You may ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it. John 14:13-14
What a powerful statement by Jesus! You may ask me for anything in my name and I will do it! Wow! What an encouragement to pray. I think the Church as a whole needs this encouragement. This is written in our Bibles. Why would we not pray? I think the same reasons we don’t pray are the very reasons we should pray.
One of the reasons we don’t pray is because the enemy has told us that God is sovereign and because He’s sovereign there really is no need to pray because after all since He’s sovereign He’s going to do what He wants to anyway and so there is no need to pray. The truth is that because He is sovereign is the main reason we should pray. Sovereignty means that God is the Supreme Ruler of the universe. When we pray we have the Supreme Ruler of the Universe working on our behalf! Hallelujah! What a reason to pray! God has a will and we are made in His image. When we pray, we are aligning our will with God’s will!
Another reason we don’t pray is we have believed the lie of the enemy that God is unchangeable. So if He’s unchangeable then why pray. We can’t change God. God is unchangeable in His character. However, we have several examples in the Bible where God changed His mind when His people prayed. God was going to destroy the people of Israel in Exodus because He was sick of their murmuring and complaining, but Moses prayed and the Bible says God changed His mind. How about Jonah? God sent Jonah to Nineveh to preach a message that in 40 days Nineveh will be destroyed. Was Nineveh destroyed? No! God changed His mind. The people responded properly to the message. They responded with repentance and prayer and fasting! God relented! He changed His mind. So while His character is unchanging, that doesn’t mean He won’t change His mind!
Many things in the world we live in look bad. There is much to be discouraged about. Even the condition of our country makes us think we are headed south in a hurry. But it’s never too late with God. We have more reason that ever to pray! We have loved ones that don’t have a relationship with Jesus. The future of our country is at stake. Our freedom and liberties are at stake. We have been commanded by our King to pray! Is there a need? Is there a cause? Let’s purpose in our hearts to pray like we’ve never prayed before! The King of the Universe is listening!
Consumed by the call,
Pastor Marty