Jesus gave us some very specific guidelines about how to pray. One striking thing he tells us is that we are not “to heap up empty phrases as the Gentiles do, for they think that they will be heard for their many words.”1 The Gentiles? Didn’t they believe in many gods? Yes, they did! They considered prayers to be like a courtroom case where they had to persuade their god to give them what they petitioned by bargaining and flattering the god with impressive language and lengthy speeches.
I think many people still think that way—that we can persuade God to give us what we want. But Jesus clearly said that’s not the way prayer works. Then he added: “Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him.”2 Wait a minute! If God knows what we need then why do we need to ask him for anything? Why does not God just give us what we need? Why does not God give everyone what they need?
And here’s the answer: He does. God gives all of us exactly what we need. The purpose of prayer is not to ask God for things—not even to ask God to change our circumstances. Never in all of Paul’s writings did he ever pray for things to change. He prayed that people would change. To the Ephesians, Paul prayed that they would have “the eyes of [their] hearts enlightened.”3 To the Philippians, Paul prayed that their “love may abound more and more with knowledge and all discernment.”4 To the Colossians, Paul prayed that they would “be filled with the knowledge of his will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding.”5
Prayer is not about getting things from God. Prayer is how we discover who God is and prayer is how we discover who we are. When we understand God and ourselves, we begin to want what God wants—which is always the best thing! That’s why Jesus said, “If you ask me anything in my name, I will do it.”6 To ask in Jesus’ name means to want God’s will to be done in our lives more than we want what we want to be done in our lives! Remember: our model prayer from Jesus includes the line “your will be done.”7
Do we never ask God for things, then? Well . . . if we are worried about things, we absolutely need to pray about them. But here are the instructions for that kind of prayer: “Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication, let your requests be made known to God.”8 First, once we pray about our worried thing, we are not to worry about it. Second, our prayer is a request. We need to remember that God knows what we do not. His answer might be (and often is) No. Or Not now. And if it is, then it is the best thing for us.
Third, when it appears as if God has not answered our prayer, we need to realize that God has already answered our prayer and the answer is No or Not now. But never are we to think that God does not hear our prayers. He does. Immediately. Fourth, after we pray, we are to be at peace. It is hard to understand, for God’s peace “surpasses all understanding,”9 but we can really be at peace while we wait on God to either change our circumstances or change our hearts. And fifth, in the meantime, we can count on this: “And my God will supply every need of yours according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus.”10
God knows what we need.
1Matthew 6:7 2Matthew 6:8 3Ephesians 1:18 4Philippians 1:9 5Colossians 1:9 6John 14:14 7Matthew 6:10 8Philippians 4:6 9Philippians 4:7 10Philippians 4:19