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What is the purpose of prayer?

August 19th, 2010 by Stephanie

By Ali Duyck

A personal reflection on prayer’s significance

I believe I am not alone in saying that there is a lot of “stuff” in my head that I deal with on a daily basis, some good, most not so good.  We live in a world that is constantly trying to persuade our thinking and when we are left to our own devices, fear, anxiety, envy, lust and pride, can set in.  Going to God in prayer is when we allow Him to change our thinking and help us to see things from His perspective. I have learned to view prayer as an opportunity to align my thoughts with God’s.  I am very thankful for the times I have started praying with an anxious heart and then have been blessed as my thoughts start transforming and I am praying for things I know could have only come from Him.

Some of the ways God has transformed my thoughts is in the ongoing battle in my head of comparing myself against others.  Others who are more beautiful, more “spiritual”, more capable, more athletic, more successful and the list goes on.  Only when I am alone with the Lord does He reveal that he has made me exactly as I am supposed to be and that in the midst of it, He is also transforming me to be more like Him.   When I go to Him in prayer, I believe I come to know myself deeper and accept the truth, as I see myself in light of Jesus.  I know I want everyone to believe that I’ve got things together and that my thoughts and intentions are pure and selfless, as they should be.  However, this facade becomes apparent when I am before God and I start to see how pride is at the root of my motives.  I am thankful that I can accept this about myself and trust that He is going to change my heart to be pure for His purpose, not my own.  I believe we are much more effective to serve Him here on earth when we come to a place of acceptance of who we are and hope for what He promises to do in us.

Although it is beneficial to us, we should also remember that prayer is for God’s glory. We glorify Him every time we humbly go before Him and submit our lives into His hands.  It is through this that we acknowledge that He is God, that He is Sovereign.  We glorify Him when we accept that His will be done in our lives, just as Jesus demonstrated through His words, saying to His Father, “not my will, but yours be done” (Luke 22:42); and through His actions, when He went to the cross.

Ultimately, prayer is a gift that we have been given, a way to communicate with God.  I pray that God would bless each of us by revealing how prayer has changed us so far in our lives and to increase our desire to make it a part of our daily activities.