God Needs Us

Am I the only one who finds prayer a bit challenging?  Not the “talking to God” part, but more so in understanding its purpose, and the principles for those powerful and effective prayers that get results. (James 5:16)

On February 14^th, along with June and Pastor Abram, I had the privilege of teaching local pastors and church leaders about the purpose, principles and power of prayer.  And as usual, teaching also turned out to be a huge learning experience for me as the Lord opened my eyes to His truths and my misconceptions about prayer.

What happens when our prayers aren’t answered?  Sometimes we feel abandoned by God or doubt His love for us.  We may question God’s character, integrity, or faithfulness to His Word.  Or we may doubt ourselves – our faith, our understanding of God’s Word, our discernment of His will.  Maybe we decide that prayer is not for us; rather it’s for those more spiritual, eloquent, or gifted.  (After all, it is a spiritual gift, right?)  Ultimately, our prayers dry up.

Prayers are meant to be answered, so when they don’t bring results we need to find out why.  We need to look to the Word of God for insight, and avoid jumping to the wrong conclusions about God or ourselves, conclusions that actually contradict the Word of God.  And I think one way we short-circuit our prayers is through an incorrect or incomplete understanding of their purpose.

Why should we pray?  Do our prayers matter?  After all, God already knows, controls, and has predetermined everything.  He’s everywhere, all the time, and never changes.  I know the Bible tells us to pray and, of course, and I want to be obedient.  I also know that Jesus did and I want to model Him.  But I’m sorry, those reasons alone just don’t evoke the sense of passion, power, and effectiveness that should characterize true prayer. 

In Genesis 1:26-28, we learn that we were created to reflect God’s image - nature, character and personality – in order to have fellowship with Him.  We were also created to carry out His purposes on earth – to rule, to have dominion, to take care of things – using our own free will, abilities and initiative. 

We know God’s plans and purposes will always be accomplished. (Isaiah 14:24, Psalm 33:11, Proverbs 19:21, Ephesians 1:11)  We also know that God will never break or contradict His Word.  (Isaiah 55:11, Matthew 5:18)  Therefore, when God gave us dominion or legal authority on earth, He also limited Himself from taking over.  Otherwise, He’d violate His purpose as stated through His Word.

God needs our agreement and cooperation to accomplish His purposes – His will, His desires, His promises, and His blessings.  That’s why our prayers matter!  Prayer is how we give God permission to interfere in the earth’s affairs.

Think about the men and women in the Bible whom God used needed to carry out His will - Noah, Abraham, Moses, Esther, even Jesus.  It’s still God’s will that will be done, but He needs our prayers and obedience to carry it out.

What does God need you to accomplish?  What about me?   Let us pray!