Why do we pray

Introduction

We hit on this topic a little bit earlier when we asked what prayer is for, but I want us to consider it from another angle and ask why do we pray. Have you ever spent time praying for a need that doesn’t seem to receive the answer you would like? You feel like you are just wasting your time; so why pray anyways? Or maybe the thought in your mind is that God knows your thoughts and needs; so he doesn’t need you to pray. So you gave up.

We talked about how we view prayer earlier. If we view him as a cosmic soda machine, it could be easy to lose heart praying. We don’t always get the soda we wanted out of the machine. We put in our 50 cents for a grape Fanta and got a diet coke. But if prayer is about something more than that we continue to pray even when the thing we got isn’t the thing we want.

The Lord’s prayer began with worship and it ends with doxology. Some have debated whether these words should be included in the Lord’s prayer because it isn’t in Luke, some older manuscripts don’t have it and some older church fathers don’t quote it. However 98.2% of the manuscripts do include it and it isn’t even really a Critical text vs Byzantine text thing. Some Alexandrian texts do have it and some Byzantine manuscripts don’t have it. It is also included in the Didache an early church writing about the tradition of the Apostles. And some early translations have it. For our discussion tonight, we are going to side with the majority and say it should be here.

Not only should it be here, but it should be in our prayers as well. Doxology in prayer reminds us of one truth: God is worthy of the glory we give him in prayer.

I don’t pray solely to get what I want, I don’t pray solely to feel better about myself, I don’t pray solely to see God do something. Why do I pray? Because God is worthy of my obedience, God is worthy of my love, God is worthy of my time and attention. God is worthy. Beginning and ending the prayer with forms of worship remind us of why we pray.

In this doxology, Jesus teaches us to pray for three things.

Kingdom

When we hear the word kingdom our mind ought to think of the Millennial kingdom and rightly so. The problem with this is the tense of our verse here in Matthew 6:13 “And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil: For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen.” Our prayer of praise acknowledges that the Kingdom now belongs to God. But we know we are not in the millennial kingdom yet. So how do we reconcile these two ideas:

Some have tried to explain this away by making a distinction between the Kingdom of God and the Kingdom of Heaven. They claim the kingdom of God is God’s general rule over all creation while the kingdom of heaven is about the millennial kingdom. This solution is impossible.

Consider the fact that the kingdom of heaven only occurs in the gospel of Matthew while the kingdom of God occurs in more books of the bible. Maybe there is a reason why Matthew uses this phrase and the others do not.

Consider that the two phrases are used interchangeably Matthew 19:23–24 “Then said Jesus unto his disciples, Verily I say unto you, That a rich man shall hardly enter into the kingdom of heaven. And again I say unto you, It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God.”

Consider that parallel passages in other books of the bible use kingdom of God where kingdom of heaven would normally occur. Matthew 11:11 “Verily I say unto you, Among them that are born of women there hath not risen a greater than John the Baptist: notwithstanding he that is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he.” Luke 7:28 “For I say unto you, Among those that are born of women there is not a greater prophet than John the Baptist: but he that is least in the kingdom of God is greater than he.”

I believe the best solution is to understand that the Kingdom has begun but has not reached its full expression yet in the Millennial kingdom.

a. Consider Luke 17:20–21 “And when he was demanded of the Pharisees, when the kingdom of God should come, he answered them and said, The kingdom of God cometh not with observation: Neither shall they say, Lo here! or, lo there! for, behold, the kingdom of God is within you.” Matthew 12:28 “But if I cast out devils by the Spirit of God, then the kingdom of God is come unto you.” Verses like these teach that the kingdom is now in existence.

b. Consider also Acts 1:6 “When they therefore were come together, they asked of him, saying, Lord, wilt thou at this time restore again the kingdom to Israel?” Verses like this one indicate that the kingdom has not yet fully come.

Throughout scripture their are doctrines that act like this. Consider salvation: the bible teaches that we have been saved, are being saved in sanctification and will be saved when we reach heaven. We call these now/not yet doctrinal truths.

I say all of that to say this: Praising God for His kingdom is acknowledging God’s present rule in the lives of his people. The kingdom exists now in the hearts of those who are his subjects. And it should remind us that he deserves our obedience.

Power

Recognizing the power of God is a recognition that God has the power to do what He has determined. God is not limited in answering our prayer.

Ephesians 1:11 “In whom also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestinated according to the purpose of him who worketh all things after the counsel of his own will:”

Can you see in this statement that God can fulfill any prayer we bring to him in the way that he has required? Sometimes we lose heart and give up on praying because what we are asking seems to hard, too impossible. We have been praying for so long and it just seems like it will never happen. Do you believe that God truly has the power to answer any request that we bring to him?

Why do I pray? I pray because I know God can do the things that I can’t. God can do the things that seem impossible. As a pastor, I can’t make HHBC grow, I can’t make people respond to the messages and take steps of growth in their lives. As a pastor I can’t bring revival to our church. These are things God can do. God can breath life into dry bones.

Maybe you have struggled with a sin and it seems like you are getting no where in fighting against it. You don’t have the power in yourself to overcome it. Prayer like this reminds us that God does have the power. Philippians 2:13 “For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure.”

Remember the words to Mary Luke 1:37 “For with God nothing shall be impossible.”

This doxology resounds with praise for all the impossible things that God can and does do. Psalm 77:14 “Thou art the God that doest wonders: Thou hast declared thy strength among the people.” He is the God of wonders.

Glory

Glory is the worth and value of God. God gets glory from us when we pray to Him. There are two types of glory spoken of in the bible:

intrinsic glory- this is the glory that God has in Himself. It is who He is. Man cannot add or take away from who He is.

ascribed glory- this type of glory is that which mankind recognizes and ascribes to God. Here we are reminded that God is worthy of our praise of His value and worth.

So how does this influence my prayer? Let me give you a couple ways that God is glorified in our prayers:

1. God gets glory as we praise who he is and worship Him.

2. God gets glory when he is seen acting in our lives. John 17:1 “These words spake Jesus, and lifted up his eyes to heaven, and said, Father, the hour is come; glorify thy Son, that thy Son also may glorify thee:”

3. God gets glory when we express our thanks to him in prayer. I didn’t know where to fit this into the Lord’s prayer, but I think at root behind doxology is a heart of gratitude for everything God has done in our lives. We all know that thanksgiving is a part of prayer. Spend some time thanking him for all the good he gives and for all the answered prayers.

Conclusion

So let’s ask again, why should I pray when it seems I don’t get what I want? The answer is because He is worthy. Revelation 5:12 “Saying with a loud voice, Worthy is the Lamb that was slain to receive power, and riches, and wisdom, and strength, and honour, and glory, and blessing.” Tonight I want to challenge us with feeling, expressing, praying the depth of His worth. Let us close tonight with prayer of worship together as a church.