THE PURPOSE OF PRAYER - PERSPECTIVE

What is the Purpose of Prayer? What is it intended to do, or provide?

Well, the answer all depends upon your perspective.

There are some who feel that prayer doesn’t work, because they’ve asked God to stop the senseless slaughter of people around the world, and nothing happened. Nothing changed! That was their perspective.

There’ve been others who’ve asked God to spare the life of their loved one, help, or heal them from a terrible disease, and it too seemed to have fallen on deaf ears. That was prayer from that perspective.

And you have those who’ve asked God to give them a job, keep a job, bring a spouse, have a child, get a house, and still there was silence. That was their perspective.

So then, What is the Purpose for Prayer?

What good is it, if it doesn’t provide us with what we are asking for?

Afterall isn’t prayer a petition? Well, I’ve petitioned and got nothing!

Everyone has an idea of how something should work. It’s called perspective.

Today we will see if our perspective on the Purpose of Prayer is correct. Not by man’s definition or standards, but by Gods.

Some would say that those who did not receive what they prayed for lacked faith that’s why God didn’t answer their prayer.

That statement would be judgmental, wrong, and ignorant.

God is not vindictive nor vengeful, if he were, we would all be dead.

Let’s have a closer look at some common misbeliefs and incorrect perspectives about the purpose of prayer. Then see what God thinks.

Many think prayers are for the purpose of changing the course of a situation or circumstance that we’re in or will be facing. Thats incorrect.

Some believe the best time to pray is when you want or need something. This also counter to what God desires.

Often times we want to pray something AWAY, when God wants us to pray OUR WAY through something.

Rarely will you find someone who desires to pray their way through a challenge or situation. Most want to be rescued, not to be taught how to rest in it.

It is not always about Lord get me out, sometimes it’s supposed to be about Lord get me through.

One of the main core tenants of the Purpose of Prayer is to glorify God.

John 9:3 says, Things happen to bring the Glory to God.

We gain more by going through something rather than getting out of it!

Thus, God will get greater glory and testimony from us by what he brought us through.

Testimony means to testify. You cannot testify about what you didn’t experience. Prayer helps us to have a testimony.

Daniel spent the night praying in the lion’s den with hungry lions all around, which was a greater testimony than if he just found a way out.

Which plant is stronger, the one that grows through the rock or the one that grows around it?

Which person that goes to the gym will get stronger? The one who prays Lord please don’t allow me to lift anything heavy or the one that prays Lord please teach me to handle the heavy? In both life and the gym!

Can our prayers change our circumstances? Absolutely!

But when our circumstances don’t change, it’s often an indication that God is trying to change US to handle those types of situations.

Rest assured we will see it again, or some version of it.

God says Fear Not, and we can only do that once we’ve learned that no matter what happens He’ll get us through it.

The primary purpose of prayer is not to change circumstances; the primary purpose of prayer is to change us!

If we’re being completely honest here, most of our prayers have as their chief objective our own personal comfort rather than God’s glory.

We want to pray away every problem, but those shortsighted prayers would short-circuit God’s perfect plan for our life.

There are seasons and situations that we just need to pray through.

Many will say, Gods will be done but then pray to let their will be done!

Jesus prayed before going to the cross and asked God to do things another way, then he said but nevertheless Thy Will be done.

Jesus wanted out, but he knew God wanted him stronger. You get stronger when you go through something, not by getting out.

Mark 11 says “Speak to the mountain”; this is a request for us to face our mountain. Face or fears, and gain wisdom on how to defeat it.

Words of faith are what will get us through those situations.

Hebrews 4:16 speaks of obtaining mercy and grace to help us get through.

Yes, prayer is communicating with God, but what should we be communicating?

Here are 4 things that we should Seek God for in Prayer:

1.    Pray for Direction – We need to find out what direction God is moving in the situation. We need to get with His program and not think He will get with our program.

2.    Pray to have Gods Purpose for the Problem revealed to us - We’re often so anxious to get out of difficult, painful, or challenging situations that we fail to grow from it. We’re so fixated on getting out of it, that we don’t get anything out of it.

3.    Pray for Gods Strength - We fail to learn the lessons God is trying to teach us or cultivate the character God is trying to grow in us.

Jesus told Peter that an attack was coming to him, and that he prayed for his strength. God wants us to grow in strength not stress

4.    Pray for Gods Plan to Prevail - We’re so focused on God changing our circumstances that we don’t allow God to change us! So instead of having ten or twenty years of experience, every year we repeat the same experience 10 or 20 times.

A famous philosopher said, “Life can only be understood backwards, but it must be lived forward.”

This is a Thompson Truth