Why We Pray

We can't wait to pray until we feel worthy to pray. Martin Luther said, "Prayer must not be based on or depend on your personal worthiness or the quality of the prayer itself but on the unchanging truth of God's promise. If the prayer is based on itself, or on anything else besides God's promise, then it's a false prayer that deceives you. We become worthy to pray when we risk everything on God's faithfulness alone." We are only able to pray because God bridged the gap between him and us, not because we have earned the right to pray.

Just as we can't wait to pray until we feel worthy, we also can't base our desire to pray on whether or not we feel God is listening, or if we think He will answer it. God always listens, regardless of how we feel. I have heard people say that their prayers 'hit the ceiling and bounced right back down' which reflects their attitude rather than God's aptitude. And, while some people seem to have a special direct line to God in their prayers, God listens to all of us equally. There are some folks I call when I need Serious Praying done, but that doesn't mean any of us have an excuse to not pray. God hears us all and responds to all of us. He loves us! He has given us promises - which He always keeps!

Prayer is sharing our thoughts, desires, feelings, and fears with our Father who loves us fully and without reservation. There isn't anything better than that.