Why Pray?

The other day, I was praying with Sam about a friend of his. "I'm not sure how to pray about this," he said. "I just know he needs prayer. I don't know the details."

"Just mention your friend by name," I said. "God knows his needs." (Matt 6:32)

After I quoted that verse, I paused. "If God already knows our needs," I wondered, "then why do we pray?" The Bible tells us in many places to pray, and to pray without ceasing. Why? God is all knowing. It's not like he needs vital information from us. We can't tell Him anything in prayer that He doesn't already know. So why are we directed to tell Him all of our needs?

If God had created us to be knights and pawns on a chess board, prayer wouldn't be necessary. He would move us around as He saw fit. But that's not why God created us. He formed us in His image, so that we could have a relationship with Him. Sin severed that bond, but through the blood of Christ it is restored.

"For since our friendship with God was restored by the death of his Son while we were still his enemies, we will certainly be saved through the life of his Son. So now we can rejoice in our wonderful new relationship with God because our Lord Jesus Christ has made us friends of God." (Romans 5:10,11)

We are friends, not chess pieces. Friends have conversations. Prayer is a conversation between God and us. We are encouraged to pray so that God can communicate with us. He doesn't need us to talk to Him; He wants us to talk with Him. The next time you are praying, remember that you aren't just rattling off a list a needs. You are conversing with the Maker of the heavens and the earth.