Why Do We Pray?

We pray first of all because God has invited us and instructed us (1 Thessalonians 5:17). We are told to ask and promised to receive (Matthew 7:7). We acknowledge our total dependence on God. Since all of life depends on Him it is only reasonable to acknowledge our constant dependence on God and to request our daily needs from Him. 'Give us our Daily Bread'. Matthew 6:9-14; Psalm 95:1-7; Psalm 100; Acts 17:28; James 1:17. But prayer is more than asking God for things. Sitting quietly in love and adoration of God, listening and reflecting on what we hear from our conversation with Him, even just learning to rest in the presence of God is rewarding.

How Do We Pray?

We praise God for His sovereignty! That God is sovereign over all (Psalm 103:19; Psalm 139: 16; Job 42:2) and He knew all our days before one of them came to be. Pray Scripture - God’s Word being read and prayed back to Him. There are so many examples that could be prayed. To name a few: Philippians 4:6-7; Philippians 4:19, Psalm 84:11; Jeremiah 29:11; Psalm 138:8; 3 John 1:2; I Peter 5:7; Luke 22:42; Psalm 112: 7-8.

How Should We Pray for Healing?

It is right to ask God for healing, for Jesus tells us to pray, “Deliver us from evil” (Matt. 6:13), and the apostle John writes, “I pray that all may be well with you and that you may be in health” (3 John 2). Jesus frequently healed all who were brought to Him. If we thought that God wanted us to continue in our illness we would never seek medical help. So, how then should we pray? James warns us that simple unbelief can lead to prayerlessness and failure to receive from God: “You do not have because you do not ask” (James 4:2). But when we pray for healing we should remember that we must pray for God to be glorified in the situation, whether He chooses to heal or not. In each individual case it is God’s sovereign wisdom that decides the outcome, and our role is simply to ask Him and wait for Him to answer.

In cases where God chooses not to heal we must remember Romans 8:28 is still true: though we experience the “sufferings of the present time,” and though we “groan inwardly as we wait for…the redemption of our bodies” (Romans 8:18, 23), nonetheless, “we know that in everything God works for good with those who love Him, who are called according to His purpose” (Romans 8:28). This includes working in our circumstances of suffering and illness as well.

Whatever Paul’s “thorn in the flesh” was, Paul realized that God allowed it to remain with him to keep him humble before the Lord. So the Lord told him, “My grace is sufficient for you, for My power is made perfect in weakness” (2 Cor. 12:9). Both Peter and James have words of encouragement and counsel to those who are suffering trials of various kinds. When God chooses not to heal, even though we ask Him for it, then it’s right to “give thanks in all circumstances” (I Thes. 5:18) and realize that God can use sickness to draw us closer to Himself and to increase in us obedience to His will. So the psalmist can say, “It is good for me that I was afflicted, that I might learn your statutes” (Psalm 119:71), and, “Before I was afflicted I went astray; but now I keep Your word” (Psalm 119:67).

God can bring increased sanctification to us through illness and suffering – just as He can bring sanctification and growth in faith through miraculous healing. In everything God should receive glory and our joy and trust in Him should increase.