Does Prayer Matter? (What I Didn't Say on Sunday)

On Sunday, I said that God doesn’t need us. We could all quit and it will not stop God from doing what He’s going to do. 

I also said that if we quit, the consequence is that we will not be there when God does what He has purposed to do.

But here’s what I didn’t say (or at least say very much about). If God is going to do what He’s going to do, why pray? Does prayer matter?

Let’s answer a question with a question. Would you pray to God if He were not sovereign?

When you experience a problem with a product or service, invariably you ask for the manager. Some companies have wised up to this request and their response is to just make everyone a manager – I digress.

But the point is that you want to talk to someone who has the power to make a decision and change the situation. 

So again, let’s consider the question: if God is sovereign and going to do what He’s going to do, why pray? Does prayer matter?

So if God were not sovereign and had no real power to change the situation – would it make prayer matter more? Of course not. If God were not sovereign, prayer would be pointless.

Only in the sovereignty of God does prayer matter! 

So now let’s take it a step further. Prayer matters and we pray because the sovereign God has commanded us to pray.

There are numerous passages in the Bible that command us to pray. One of the most direct on the matter is the final sentence of James 4:2, “You do not have, because you do not ask.”

The sovereign God has ordained that we ask for what we need and receive it from Him in prayer.

Perhaps the reason we question if prayer matters is because we fall short in understanding what prayer is.

Prayer is not informing God.

Prayer is not persuading God that our will or our way is superior to His.

Prayer is not asking God to consider alternative ideas.

Jesus said in Matthew 6:8 that our Father knows what we need before we ask him. 

Prayer is about aligning us to God’s will. Prayer is the crucifixion of selfish desire (James 4:1-4). Prayer puts us in the place God wants us most, desperately, repentantly, seeking Him (2 Chronicles 7:14). 

Sure, God provides “things” through prayer. Sometimes God heals in answer to prayer. But we need to also receive what the Bible says about how might guide, or give wisdom, strengthen, and/or encourages our hearts in answer to prayer. 

In Acts 4 the church suffers the initial blow of persecution. Being informed by God’s Word, they realize that persecution is part of God’s sovereign plan for His people (Acts 4, Psalm 2). They didn’t ask God to change His plan. They asked God to give them boldness. In doing so, they demonstrated that they understood what prayer is and why it matters.

Why ask for boldness if God isn’t sovereign? Furthermore, they didn’t ask for boldness because God didn’t know what they were facing – but they asked for boldness because God knew. And they wanted a boldness only a sovereign God could give. 

God’s sovereignty doesn’t make prayer meaningless. The sovereignty of God is why prayer matters!