Talking Points: Dad, why do we pray?
The Cultural Challenge
The cultural opinion of prayer is likely as low as it has ever been.
“Thoughts and prayers” are regularly mocked as useless in the face of tragedy.
A presidential candidate even wrote an article titled “No More Thoughts and Prayers” during our last election.
The challenges facing our country, the thinking goes, are too daunting for prayer.
A proper understanding of prayer, however, would recognize that it is even more necessary than ever.
The Underlying Theological Issue
The current cultural challenge to prayer points to the main reason people on both sides of the political divide don’t pray as they should:
As Jed Coppenger says, “Pride doesn’t pray.”
We don’t pray because we think we can handle things ourselves.
Prayer is an acknowledgement of weakness, of dependence on God, and ever since the Garden, we’ve tried to assert our prideful independence from God.
Even 72% of pastors admit to struggling in consistent personal prayer (Lifeway).
Jesus teaches that this pride may even distort our prayers.
In the Sermon on the Mount he offers two reasons we shouldn’t pray:
To pridefully perform for others, drawing attention to our prayers (Matthew 6:5-6)
To pridefully perform for God, seeking to impress him with our eloquence (Matthew 6:7-8)
The Biblical Solution
The biblical antidote to pride, and the engine for real prayer, is to see both ourselves and God more accurately.
Jesus demonstrates this in the Lord’s Prayer, the model prayer he gives his disciples (Matthew 6:9-13).
First, it leads us to see God accurately:
As a father who is in heaven and able to do what’s best for us.
We can confidently request “your kingdom come.”
“Our God is in the heavens; he does whatever he pleases” (Psalm 115:3).
As a father who is in heaven and willing to do what's best for us.
We can confidently request “your will be done.”
If we give good gifts to our children, how much more should we trust our loving heavenly Father to give us all we need (Matthew 7:7-11).
Second, it leads us to see ourselves accurately.
We are like children who are dependent on God for everything.
That’s why we ask for our daily bread.
Sure, we can go to the grocery store and pick up all the bread we like, but even that ability is dependent on God’s kindness to us.
As Jesus says, “Apart from me you can do nothing” (John 15:3).
God wants to help us in specific ways with our problems and plans.
Our problems are meant to cause us to pray.
When we do that, our problems become platforms where we can experience God’s love and power. (Jed Coppenger)
Application
Prayer is a pathway to the experience of God.
We’ll be more likely to pray if we see it for what it really is: an encounter with the Almighty.
“The primary point of prayer is not actually to get something, but to know Someone.” (David Platt)
Prayer is an amazing gift: “The only person who dares wake up a king at 3:00 a.m. for a glass of water is his child. We have that kind of access.” (Tim Keller)
We need to pray in such a way that our kids see this.
This internal recognition should be paired with an external intention.
Jesus starts his teaching on prayer, “And when you pray.” Not “if” but “when” (Matthew 6:5, 6, 7; Luke 11:2).
Plan for prayer to escape the distractions of life.
Even Jesus chose specific times and places to pray where he could focus (Mark 1:35).
But also weave prayer spontaneously into your daily life with your kids. (Megan and Jeremy Kennedy)
We need prayer more than ever; we can’t let our pride smother its power.
