A friend and I were having a cup of coffee the other night, and he asked me a seemingly simple question: “Why do we pray?” The only reason I could think of at the time was “Because God commands it.” I realize now, retrospectively, that however true that response may have been, it was insufficient. As Christians who are seeking to know God more each day and walk with Jesus steadfastly, prayer is not merely an arbitrary command given by God to inconvenience our daily lives. The Bible gives theologically compelling reasons why Christians ought to cultivate the discipline (and delight?) of prayer in our daily lives.
1) Jesus Christ gave his life so that we could pray. Our intimate communion with the living God did not come cheap. Christ willingly laid down his life so that “through Him we both [Jew and Gentile] have our access in one Spirit to the Father” (Eph 2:18). Prayer is actual access to God—a fellowship made possible only because Jesus satisfied the righteous wrath we deserve. Our requests, intercessions, and praises are eagerly accepted by the God who desires to commune with his blood-bought children. In fact, the church has a sympathetic High Priest—Jesus Christ— who intercedes on our behalf. Not to cultivate a life of prayer would be to dismiss the invitation to “draw near with confidence to the throne of grace, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need” (Heb 4:16). Bowing our knees before the Father is always an expression of thankfulness to Jesus for his reconciling cross-work on our behalf.
2) Prayer is practice for God’s new world. The communion with God which Christians have in the present is only a foretaste of the “face-to-face,” divine intimacy we will have in the world to come (Rev 22:4). We can experience in advance that “joy inexpressible” which all God’s children will one day partake of in all its fullness. The sinfulness of the flesh, however, clouds our concentration in this evil age, making focused prayer difficult and demanding. But the struggle is well worth it, and mature Christians down through the centuries would certainly testify to that fact. Seeking God in private prayer, even if it means the crucifixion of our restless flesh, will bear the fruit of resurrection life: peace, joy, and the power to obey God with a sincere heart. As we groan in the hard-won discipline of prayer, the Holy Spirit even groans with us, as we long for the resurrection of the body on the new earth in the presence of God forever. Prayer connects us with that future reality, and it keeps us in close contact with the God who has begun his new creation in our hearts already.
3) God has issued the command to pray. The first two reasons perhaps give some theological foundation for the command to cultivate prayer. God did not give this command in order to insert one more item into our religious to-do list. On the contrary, God is shaping a people who will be useful to fulfill his good purposes in his world for his glory. The exhortation to “pray at all times in the Spirit” (Eph 6:18) is a command given for our good. God knows that if we don’t remain alert with an attitude of Spirit-led prayer, we are prone to wander from the path of godliness. When we pray according to the will of God (that is, biblically), God promises to answer and respond with favor to all our requests. The command to pray is given to God’s people only in accordance with the power he has already provided. That doesn’t mean we will always feel like praying. It means that the Spirit of grace will enable us as we obey this commandto pray—the praises and petitions of the saints rising to heaven as a pleasing aroma before the throne of God.
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