What Do You Pray?
“And when you pray, do not heap up empty phrases as the Gentiles do, for they think that they will be heard for their many words. Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him.” (Matthew 6:7-8)
If you want to know how a man thinks, listen to how the man prays. How many times do we feel as if we must say the right words, jump through the right hoops, check the right boxes in order for God to answer us? How many times do we ramble on and on as if God was clueless as to our situation? When we fill our prayers with empty words, we act as if God has an empty mind and an empty heart. Not only the what we pray, but the how we pray reflects what we really think about God. The question before us is simple: what does Jesus think about God?
Jesus knows God as Father. God has always been a Father in relation to God the Son, and Jesus “always does the things that are pleasing to Him.” Infinitely and incomprehensibly, Jesus knows the depth of the Father’s love. That same fullness, the same love flows through Christ to us, for Jesus prays that “the world may know that You sent Me and loved them even as You loved Me.” Words so simple, so short, yet so deep. This love surpasses even our wildest dreams. God the Father loves His adopted sons as much as His natural Son. Eternity is too short to fully enjoy the love of the Father. So let me ask – would the Father withhold any good thing from Christ? Would He deny any joy to His Beloved Son? Would He withhold anything from you? Does your prayer reflect that?
More than a Father, Jesus knows that God knows. God knows all things because He decreed all things, for He “is God, and there is none like Him, declaring the end from the beginning and from ancient times things not yet done, saying ‘My counsel shall stand, and I will accomplish all my purpose.’” (Isa. 46:9-10) To paraphrase the late R.C. Sproul: there is not a single maverick molecule in this universe. Let’s not make things complicated. God doesn’t need a fifteen-minute explanation – God didn’t get lost, God didn’t forget, God didn’t fall asleep. God knew exactly what you needed before the world was, and He is able to provide. He does not answer our prayers begrudgingly, neither does He answer from a place of lack. In fact, God has ordained our very prayers to display the bounty of His care and compassion for us.
I do not ask you today – what do you think about God? I ask you a more important question – what do you pray to God?
