Rational Faith Q&A-1: If God is Omniscient & Sovereign, why pray?
GOD IS IMMUTABLE:
The Bible declares God is unchanging. No man can change God. And if one can change God’s will then God is no longer God for God by definition is immutable. He doesn’t have a learning curve, and nothing surprises God. There is nothing God is yet to realize for God knows everything. That's why the Hebrew writer boldly declares, "Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever." (Heb. 13:8). Moreover, since God is not a man who changes his mind the Bible says, "God is not human, that he should lie, not a human being, that he should change his mind." (Num. 23:19). If we cannot change God’s heart by praying then what can be the purpose of prayer?
THE PARADOX OF PRAYER:
Throughout the Bible, we see great men of God pray constantly and consistently. Even Jesus prayed every day when He was in flesh. “Very early in the morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house and went off to a solitary place, where he prayed” (Mark 1:35). Jesus also taught us to pray. Jesus said, “Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; the one who seeks finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened." (Mat 7:7-8). This creates a paradox and raises a question: Why we should pray at all? Can we even hope to change God’s heart and make Him do something we desire? What is prayer, anyway?
THE PURPOSE OF PRAYER - 1:
God is Omnibenevolent and He is full of goodness. From His goodness, He has ordained to shower His blessings upon everyone and particularly to the people whom He chose even before the foundation of this world. Now, God not only ordains the best things for His chosen people throughout their lives but also God ordains the means through which He showers those blessings on the chosen. One of the God-ordained means is prayer. Moreover, God is sovereign such that He puts us in specific circumstances by taking us through certain paths in our life so we willingly chose to pray to seek God’s counsel and support. So, it is clear that prayer is to ask God’s preordained will to be done in our lives. No wonder Jesus asked us to say this in our prayers, "Your will be done." (Mat 6:10). Moreover, "The Holy Spirit himself intercedes for us through wordless groans. . .because the Spirit intercedes for God’s people in accordance with the will of God." (Rom. 8:26-27)
THE PURPOSE OF PRAYER - 2:
When we read the parable of the persistent widow, we see that the chapter begins with, "Jesus told his disciples a parable to show them that they should always pray and not give up." (Luke 18:1) but ends with Jesus’ note, "When the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on the earth?” (Luke 18:8). You see, prayer is not so much about forcing God to do what we desire, but about having faith and trusting God. Know that it is God who first put us in that difficult situation so we will pray. Faith certainly unlocks blessings. Why? Because God not just ordained any prayer as the means of God’s blessing but a prayer full of faith. The purpose of prayer is to strengthen us in our faith. That's why when we pray we are confident that we have placed our petition to the all-knowing God and therefore, I am ready to face whatever God brings. Take for instance the faith of the prayer warriors, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego: "But even if God does not deliver us from the blazing furnace. . .we will not serve your gods or worship the image of gold you have set up." (Dan. 3:16-18). Not all prayers are answered. Some answers are denied, some are delayed, and some are delivered. Whatever the outcome, God calls us to not give up in prayers because He wants us to trust Him that He will bring the best outcome for us. You see, "Without faith, it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him." (Heb. 11:16) It is God who not only initiates our faith but also strengthens our faith through prayer by allowing us to go through certain situations and circumstances in our lives which He preordained even before the creation of this world. What a great comfort we get from this?
THE PURPOSE OF PRAYER - 3:
Finally, the common misunderstanding is that prayer is all about asking God to do something which we assume that He wouldn’t have done otherwise. This mindset comes because of underestimating God and undermining God’s nature and ability. God not only knows what you could do (your ability) but also what you would do (your prerogative) given the circumstances. Therefore, God knows what you would willingly ask in prayer under the circumstances He puts you in. And God already has answered our prayers before the creation of the world with the best answers which are according to His good will and His rich mercy. Prayer is an opportunity to acknowledge that fact. There is a great delight in knowing this for we can have a joyful communion with God and be filled with peace when we pray. Prayer enables us to do a faith-check and fills us with abounding hope and the end products are peace and joy.
In summary, prayer is not about changing God’s mind, rather it is about growing strong in faith, delighting in God by knowing God’s foreordained provisions, acknowledging that, trusting God, and gaining the confidence and courage to take the next step with a heart filled with joy and peace. No wonder why Jesus and all the great men of Faith prayed all the time. The pleasure of prayer is limitless.
-Jenn Anand
In Defense of The Truth...
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