Why Pray if God Is Sovereign? (Part 2)
January 23rd, 2009
(By Matt Waymeyer)
Why Pray?
In this series, we will consider five reasons why believers should pray in light of the sovereignty of God.
1. God has commanded us to pray.
The most obvious reason to pray is that God has commanded us to pray. This is evident throughout the teachings of both Jesus and the apostle Paul. Jesus taught His disciples how to pray in Matthew 6:9-13, introducing the prayer with the words, “Pray, then, in this way” (v. 9). Afterward, He instructed His disciples to be persistent in their prayers (Luke 11:5-13). In Luke 18:2-8, Jesus told them a parable “to show that at all times they ought to pray” (Luke 18:1). And upon arriving at the Garden of Gethsemane, He instructed them, “Pray that you may not enter into temptation” (Luke 22:40).
The apostle Paul exhorted the Thessalonians to “pray without ceasing” (1 Thess 5:17); he instructed the Philippians, “Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God” (4:6); he charged the Colossians, “Devote yourselves to prayer” (4:2); he wrote to the Ephesians, “With all prayer and petition pray at all times in the Spirit, and with this in view, be on the alert with all perseverance and petition for all the saints, and pray on my behalf…” (6:18-19a); and he urged Timothy “that entreaties and prayers, petitions and thanksgivings, be made on behalf of all men” (1 Tim 2:1). Continue Reading »
