Why Bother to Pray?

I realize God tells us to pray, but really, is that the only reason, “Because He said so?”

This last week a friend (Ira) and I drove from Albuquerque to Phoenix to visit and pray with Stephen and his wife Kimberly. They are a young couple from church, and Stephen has stage four colon cancer. The doctors didn’t give him much hope, so they traveled to Phoenix for some alternative treatment. It seems to be working, but it’s mighty expensive, and insurance doesn’t cover it.

• You can listen to his story here, please feel free to share it!
• And give here.

I’ve often thought that if there’s no God, prayer is a waste of time. No one’s listening. And if there is a God, He’ll do what He wants anyway, so what’s the good of praying? Why bother?

Yesterday I was doing a Bible study that brought me to Genesis 18. There were two stories about prayer, giving two clear, helpful reasons to pray.

Reason One: nothing is impossible for the Lord

The first story is about Abraham and Sarah wanting a child (verses 9-15). I assume they’d been praying for years with no kid to show for it. Then, long after Sarah is too old to have a child, the LORD shows up. He tells them a baby is coming. When Sarah doesn’t believe it, God says, “Is anything impossible for the LORD?” V.14.

Reason Two: God will do what is right

The second story is Abraham pleading with the LORD to spare Sodom and Gomorrah. Others had apparently been praying against Sodom (v.20 “the outcry against Sodom and Gomorrah is immense”). I love Abraham’s line when talking with God, “will not the judge of all the earth do right?” v.25. In other words, our prayers won’t talk God into doing what isn’t best.

God listened a long time to Abraham’s argument, but the right thing to do was to destroy the city.

In both cases, prayer was a chance to know God better — to worship, trust, and encounter Him. They learned that nothing is impossible for the LORD. Abraham experienced God’s patience as he argued for the city over multiple rounds of back and forth, and also His justice. This is more than knowing about God, it is a knowing God in a way that could only come with prayer.

We have an old saying at church. 100% Obedience, 0% Outcome. We pray and obey without holding God accountable for the outcome we want.

Of course, we also pray hoping our desires line up with God’s. James 4:2-3 says sometimes we have not because we ask not. When Ira’s youngest son was born, he went 8-10 minutes without oxygen. There was little hope he’d live, let alone live normally. The university hospital here in Albuquerque tried putting him on ice for three days to let his brain heal. We prayed. He was healed. It’s worth asking.

So here’s an opportunity for you:

• Would you pray for Stephen? Nothing is impossible with God.
• If you are struggling with how to pray, check out Pastor Andy’s blog here.
• If you’d like to help with his treatment, you can give here.

Reason Three: Blessing

This brings us to what I believe is the key reason to pray. When we went to Phoenix, it was Ira and I who came away encouraged. Stephen and Kimberly’s walk and trust in God were worth the trip alone. We left closer to them and closer to God.

We don’t know yet what the outcome will be. But we know nothing is impossible with the LORD, and the judge of all the earth will do right.

Be encouraged,

Dan

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Photo by Amaury Gutierrez on Unsplash