What is the goal of prayer?
The other day I was sitting at the table with my kids and we were talking about this idea of prayer. And I forget how it came up, but I asked my kid’s this question,
“What is the goal of prayer?”
I love praying with my kids. And I love hearing them pray. The way they pray may be similar to the way you pray. They thank God for all the ways he blesses them and takes care of them. And they ask God to help them with the things that are coming up that may be hard or difficult.
That’s a great way to pray by the way. Thanking God for all he’s done for you and making your requests known to God… that’s a beautiful, God honoring way to pray. We should always pray in faith, believing God can do what only God can do in us, for us, and through us.
Scripture says that we should cast all our cares on our Father in Heaven because He cares for us. That we should not be anxious about anything but that we should pray about everything, giving thanks and making our requests known to our Father in Heaven.
And we should. But sometimes I wonder, What exactly is the goal of prayer?
[embedyt] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fRHjvwkrvGs[/embedyt]Three Things We Pray…
Back in 2000 a comedy movie came out by the name of Meet the Parents. At one point, the character played by Ben Stiller is sitting at the dinner table and he has the job of saying the prayer before the meal. Something he stumbled and fumbled through. But he ended it with these words:
“Three things we pray: to love Thee more dearly, to see Thee more clearly, to follow Thee more nearly.”
St Richard of Chichester
I remember the first time I saw the movie just laughing out loud at this scene. But that part of his prayer is actually a REAL prayer. It goes all the way back to the 13th Century, to St Richard of Chichester who was a bishop and chancellor of Oxford.
And the more I think about it, the more I love this little prayer, “Lord, grant that I may see thee more clearly, love thee more dearly, and follow thee more nearly.”
What I love about this prayer is that I think it might help us think differently about what our goal really is in prayer. About what we’re really after. Because at the end of the day, what we really want, what we’re really striving for, what really happens as we spend time over time with our Father in prayer is something even better than getting everything we’ve ever asked for.
What is God’s Goal for you in Prayer?
Maybe it would be helpful to think about the question in this way, What is God’s goal for you in prayer? No doubt, he wants to hear everything going on in your heart and life. I believe God cares deeply about what is going on with you, with your family, with your work, with those you care about and love. He wants to make sure you have every thing you need, He wants to forgive your sin, He wants to hear about your dreams, your fears, and everything in between.
But What is God’s ultimate goal for you in prayer?
James, a leader in the early church and a brother to Jesus, once wrote that, “Abraham believed God, and God counted him as righteous because of his faith. He was even called the friend of God.”
What if God’s goal for you in prayer is friendship.
Friendship
Those who believe God and live by faith enter into this new relationship with God called friendship. James knew something about friendship with God and he knew something about prayer.
As a leader in the early church, he had a nickname. They called him, “Old Camel Knees,” because he spent so much time in prayer on his knees with Our Father that he developed callouses on his knees.
He came to know God our Father the same way Abraham knew God, as a friend.
What’s really amazing is that Jesus once said, “Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends. You are my friends if you do what I command.” After he spoke those words, Jesus went to the cross and laid down his life for you and me.
So what if the goal of prayer is ultimately friendship with God?
To be able to see Jesus more clearly, to love Him more dearly, and to follow Him more nearly.
Here’s some good news today, Jesus loves you so much He laid down His life for you so you could be friends with God. So why not spend some time today in prayer with your Father and your Friend?
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