Recently, as I was putting my seven-year-old son to bed, he asked: “Mama, why do we have to pray to God when he’s gonna do it anyway?”
I had to smile. Now that’s childlike faith—believing you’re going to get something without asking.
Actually, he asked a valid question: Why should I pray? God can see me no matter where I am. He can hear my thoughts, he knows ahead of time what I’m going to say, and he’s already planned out what he’s going to do. Why go through the extra step of folding my hands, bowing my head, and coming up with words?
In short, there are a lot of reasons why you should pray—and I cover most of them in How to Have a Richer Prayer Life. A post on Cru.org also goes into detail about Reasons Why We Pray. But right now, I want to focus on just one answer to the question “Why should I Pray?”:
You should pray because it is a remarkable privilege.
Hi, I’m Lauren Thell, author of Christian YA fiction and blogger for teens who are ready to exceed the world’s expectations.
In This Article
Getting in Contact
Kendra is a big fan of Taylor Swift. She’s so impressed with the entertainer’s latest album, she wants to tell her what she thinks. So she links to Ms. Swift’s social media account and sends a blip that says “You rock, Taylor!”
Gabe is a big Packers fan, particularly of the quarterback Jordan Love. He’d like to request an autograph, but in order to find his contact information, he has to use a website called Celebrity Detective.
Chloe is a pro-life activist and desires to contact the President of the United States with her concerns over upcoming legislation. She finds a switchboard number on the White House website and decides to make a phone call.
Who do you suppose answers the phone when someone calls the White House? Guarantee it’s not the President.
Who do you suppose will answer the phone when Chloe calls the White House? Guarantee it won’t be the President himself. What about Jordan Love and Taylor Swift? Do you think they read all their fan mail or respond to all their social media comments? And even if Kendra were to get a response from Taylor herself, or if Gabe were to receive the requested autograph, do you think they could elicit the same response if they contacted them next week? And the week after?
But after speaking with a White House staff member, Chloe set down her phone and whispered a prayer. When Kendra logged off her Instagram account for the night, she said a bedtime prayer. And Gabe sent his letter to Love’s agent in the mail, then said a quick prayer before biting into his hamburger.
And the Almighty God responded to each one.
Direct Communication with God
Does that not blow your mind? Who gave Taylor Swift her voice, Jordan Love his muscles, and the President of the United States his office? The same God we pray to daily! He won’t say to his angels in heaven, “Hey, guys? I’ve been getting a lot of extra prayers lately. Would you please handle them for me? I don’t have time for this.”
No, God responds to all his fan mail. He also responds to all requests—whether urgent or trivial—and listens to all complaints. He won’t tell you he doesn’t have time to listen to you cry over losing your goldfish or messing up that big play in your volleyball game. You won’t hear him say he gave you what you wanted last week, therefore you need to wait a few more weeks to expect to talk to him again. He doesn’t have computers answering your prayers and directing your calls to the appropriate line the way the IRS phone system works. And he won’t cut you off, saying you must be a VIP in order to have direct access to him.
God hears, and answers, all prayers.
This is easy to take for granted. But you can bow your head and say a prayer with your family when you sit down for dinner, then whisper another silent prayer for a friend in need as you’re washing dishes at the sink. When you car careens out of control on an icy road, you can cry out for help and be heard. And right before you go on court for a basketball game, or on stage for a cello performance, you can ask God for his guidance.
You don’t have to have all the answers.
but, hey, why not?
Bring me your questions about faith, life, God, the Bible… and I’ll help you find the answers.
Instant Messaging
You don’t have to dial a number or type out a text. And while closing your eyes and folding your hands is a good idea to prevent distractions, it isn’t a requirement of prayer. (In fact, if you’re praying while driving or riding your bicycle, I highly recommend you skip the eyes closed/folded hands posture!)
God lets you talk to him. He’ll even listen when you’re angry and not necessarily speaking rationally. And he will hear you.
“This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us. And if we know that he hears us—whatever we ask—we know that we have what we asked of him.”
1 John 5:14-15
Why Should I Pray? Because It’s a Privilege to Treasure
“And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests.”
Ephesians 6:18
Don’t let praying become as robotic and unemotional as brushing your teeth. The fact that the Almighty God—who created stars and galaxies we can’t even dream of visiting—not only listens to you but actually wants to hear from you, is an amazing gift.
Use your time in prayer to really talk to him. Let him hear your praises, your thoughts, your requests, your desires. Pray when you’re happy and when you’re sad. When you’re fearful, angry, depressed, elated, confused, tired, bored, moody, desperate, confident, content, healthy, sick…
Pray without ceasing!
For Further Reading
- I talk more about prayer—specifically about hearing God’s voice in return, in my post The (Missing) Voice of the Almighty.
- Jesus talks about prayer in Luke 11:1-13
- If you’re having trouble finding the words to use in prayer, you can find a collection of prayers by topic here.