The Why of Prayer
Parenting a two-and-a-half year old is simultaneously fun and exhausting. Having experienced that parental stage four times in my life, I discovered it is fun to watch them play, hear them laugh, and see them learn. At the same time, I experienced exhaustion from their level of energy, their complaints and cries, and their occasional stubbornness or disobedience.
One of the fun-yet-exhausting things about the walking-talking-toddler years is their incessant use of the word “why.” It can be a joy to see their internal wheels turning as they try to figure out the workings of the world around them. Yet it can also be extremely frustrating when the response to every statement you make is “Why?”
A Two-Year-Old’s Prayer Investigation
Today, I want to help your internal two-year-old emerge as we continue our Investigating Prayer inquiry. This week’s investigative question is “Why do we pray?”
If you’ve been tracking with this series through the Lord’s Prayer (as found in Matthew 6:5-13), you might remember this from our look at The What of Prayer:
“Prayer isn’t a magic formula to get something from God. It isn’t a duty to get God off your back. Nor is prayer just a mindless or repetitious activity. Prayer is first and foremost communicating with God.”
But now our inner-two-year-old is helping us move beyond what prayer is and helping us to ask “why do we communicate with God?”
1. Because God invites us here!
The fact Jesus is taking time to teach us how to pray the Lord’s Prayer means God wants us to come to Him. So accept the invitation to approach His throne of grace (Hebrews 4:16).
2. Prayer admits our dependency upon God
The temptation in the Garden of Eden wasn’t just to disobey God’s one and only command to not eat of the forbidden fruit. Rather, it was to have eyes opened and be like God (Genesis 3:5). In other words, Satan tempted Adam and Eve to not trust what God had already provided, but to depend upon themselves to make a better decision than God’s decision to make the fruit of the tree of knowledge of good and evil off limits.
When you humbly pray for God to give you your daily bread and forgive you of your sin (Matthew 6:11-12), you are doing the opposite of Adam and Eve. Rather than depending upon your own wisdom or strength, you are casting yourself before God, saying, “I trust You to provide everything I need.”
3. Prayer connects you to the Most High
Most important of all, prayer connects you with your Creator. God is not only the Creator of life, but the sustainer of life as well. To experience the life you truly want, you have to connect with the Life Giver, and that comes through prayer.
So may your inner two-year-old not just ask “why,” but may you also run to your Heavenly Daddy in prayer as you connect with Him.
