“Prayer is the only entryway into genuine self-knowledge. It is also the main way we experience deep change—the reordering of our loves. Prayer is how God gives us so many of the unimaginable things he has for us. Indeed, prayer makes it safe for God to give us many of the things we most desire. It is the way we know God, the way we finally treat God as God. Prayer is simply the key to everything we need to do and be in life.” -Timothy Keller
Relationships are built on one key ingredient: Time. Think about the most significant relationships in your life. How did you grow close to that individual? How did you learn about their goals and dreams, their likes and dislikes, but most importantly how did you learn who they are? Was it not by spending time with them? Take the marriage relationship for example. Before you and your spouse ever walked down the aisle, you went through a season of dating. This period of time is crucial if the relationship is to go any further. During the dating period, a couple begins to spend significant amounts of time with each other for the sole purpose of getting to know the other person. Our knowledge of an individual's character is in direct proportion to the amount of quality time spent with them. Time is the essential element to knowing another.
Ultimately prayer can be described in 3 small words: Time with God. Period. Many times we like to overcomplicate spiritual principles but the truth is that the message of the Gospel is simple. So prayer is simply time spent with God. So let me answer the title of this post in the most concise manner possible.
Why should we pray? So that we may know God.
Since prayer means time with God and without spending time with someone we cannot really know them. Then we must conclude that we cannot really know God without praying.
I know that most of us have been taught differently. From an early age, we have been taught to pray for our needs and wants. Example: You are six years old and Christmas Day is fast approaching. You see a commercial on t.v. for the hottest new toy. All your friends already have it and you really want it. You go up to your parents and ask them for it. Your parents reply that it is simply too expensive and unnecessary. You already have too many toys. So you counter by begging them for it. You remind them of the fact that you have been obedient (only the last few days but you neglect to mention that part), have done your chores, and the last report card shows improvement. The next statement your parents make usually goes something along these lines. "Well then why don't you pray and ask the Lord to give it to you as your Christmas present?" There is nothing wrong or sinister about that statement. However statements such as these become ingrained in our minds to the point where in adulthood we view prayer simply as a means to an end. We begin to have the mentality that prayer is the gateway that gets me what I want. Though many times God does grant us what we want through prayer, this was not its original design. We must never confuse the benefits of praying with its purpose.
The real purpose of prayer is for us to develop a relationship with God and thereby know Him.
We must never allow prayer to become a religious ritual to get what we want, "win" God's favor, or show others how "godly" we are. Prayer should be centered on a genuine desire to know God. True prayer is saying-- "God, I want to know You. I want know who You are at Your very core". When this is our attitude, prayer will cease to be a chore that we dread but will become a deep seated desire that keeps us coming back to Him.
God is not interested in rituals nor religious performances. He is interested in our hearts. He is interested in relationship with us. No amount of religious activities will ever amount to anything with God. He desires us. This is clearly portrayed in the parable of The Pharisee and The Publican found in Luke 18.
"Two men went up into the temple to pray; the one a Pharisee, and the other a publican. The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself, God, I thank thee, that I am not as other men are, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this publican. I fast twice in the week, I give tithes of all that I possess. And the publican, standing afar off, would not lift up so much as his eyes unto heaven, but smote upon his breast, saying, God be merciful to me a sinner. I tell you, this man went down to his house justified rather than the other: for every one that exalteth himself shall be abased; and he that humbleth himself shall be exalted." (Luke 18:10-14)
What was it that touched the heart of God? Was it the act of praying or rather the attitude of the one who prayed? Both men prayed yet it was the publican that found favor in God's eyes because of the inner posture of his heart. Prayer is not about the multitude of words but the inclination of our heart. Relationship with Him is what He is after.
God wants to be known by us.
Press pause right there and dwell on that statement for a moment. You will begin to understand how powerful it is. This is coming from the One who needs nothing outside of Himself. God is completely self-sufficient. He is not insecure. He does not need us. He wants us. And one of His greatest desires is for us to know Him. It's not enough that God knows us. The important question is do we know Him? Many of us know about God but do we really know Him?
One of the greatest examples of this difference is found in Moses's relationship with God versus that of the children of Israel. Psalm 103:7 says,
"He made known his ways unto Moses, his acts unto the children of Israel."
The Israelites saw God's works for many years. They saw the Red Sea split in two, the manna from Heaven, water from the rock, and countless of other miracles. In spite of all of this, Hebrews chapter 3 records that Israel hardened their hearts against God. They tested and tempted Him for forty years! They grieved God. Why? verse 10 gives us the key, "They have not known My ways". The children of Israel knew about God, but they failed to know God. The life of Moses, however, shows us a different picture. He wanted to know God. "I beseech thee, shew me thy glory" (Ex 33:18). Moses was not satisfied with external miracles. There was a deep seated desire in Him to know God. The result of this attitude was quite different from that of Israel. Whereas Israel grieved God, Moses found grace in God's sight.
But how did Moses come to know God? What did Moses do that was so different from the children of Israel? He prayed. Moses spent time with God! While the Israelites were in the camp eating and drinking and indulging in revelry (Ex 32:6), Moses was on the mountain spending time with God. In fact, if you read the Pentateuch and focus on the life of Moses you will soon notice that most of his time was spent in prayer. Hiking up and down the mountain to meet with God. And while that may not seem so remarkable, notice the effects of his prayer life both on Israel as well as himself. Israel saw more miracles than any other nation and Moses was transformed in such a way that even his face shined. Time spent with God is never in vain.
The 31st chapter of Jeremiah beginning at verse 31 speaks prophetically of the New Covenant that God would make with His people. This is what God says:
"After those days, saith the Lord, I will put my law in their inward parts, and write it in their hearts; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people. And they shall teach no more every man his neighbour, and every man his brother, saying, Know the Lord: For they shall all know me, from the least of them unto the greatest of them, saith the Lord" -Jeremiah 31:33-34
What is the purpose of the New Covenant? Knowing God. God wants to be in relationship with us. He wants us to know Him. The primary purpose of Jesus dying on the cross was not solely the forgiveness of our sins but relationship with the Father. Scripture records that the minute that Jesus breathed his last breath on that cross, "the veil of the temple was torn in two from the top to the bottom" (Matt 27:51). This signified that access to God's presence was now available to all. This access is granted through the precious blood of Jesus and made possible through the discipline of prayer. Prayer is the key to a real relationship with God. Prayer is how we come to know God.
Reader, I want you to know that you have a Father who loves you. So very much. He wants to be known by you. He wants to pour Himself into you. He wants you to pray. Not so you can fulfill a religious obligation but that you might encounter Him. So that He might spend time with you. That you might know Him and grow to love Him. I encourage you to set apart some time this week and let Him enjoy you. Prayer is time with God. It need not be something structured, complicated, or religious. It's as simple as spending time with Him whom you love and who loves you more than you will ever know. You are His child and He wants your time more than anyone else in this world. Give that to Him.
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