Why does God insist on our asking?
If God already knows what we need and even what we will be asking, why do we read in the New Testament the call to ask?
We underestimate who God is and the reality of his desire to want a relationship with us. Prayer at its core is about connecting with God. For many, they want to say their prayer, get what they want, and never talk with God again. However, God wants a relationship. For many that is a struggle to understand. It is not like the relationships we have with each other. However, in one sense it is.
I still struggle with the conversation around prayer. The struggle is often between my experience in life and what Jesus says about prayer.
Jesus is both King and Groom. The language of the scripture is very relational in how God sees us and wants to interact with us. Yet how do we speak with the King and Groom?
I am, over time, learning that the process of prayer is more about connecting us with God, then it is about praying for others. It is relational. Often our view of who God is, is the challenge to our prayer.
At times, you and I may feel like the writer in Psalm 55 when he says,
“God, listen to my prayer; don’t avoid my request.”
So what if prayer is about something else and not our request?
Many people carry an image of God that is more like Santa Claus than what scripture reveals. A tension arises because scripture on one hand says ask and you receive, but then on the other, our experience knows often there is no answer or we must wait. Then we wonder, why should we ask if there is no answer or why do we not receive?
What if prayer is not about getting, but about knowing?
Jesus talked about perseverance in prayer ( Matthew 7:7-8). The language used there carries with it a continued present tense. This means we should keep asking, keep seeking. Then as we do that, as we come to Jesus, we will find all that we need. There is a sense in which knowing Jesus begins to fill greater wholes in our life. This does not mean he will not provide the physical answers. Just that prayer has more to do with getting to know Jesus.
Hebrews 4:16 says, “So let us come boldly to the throne of our gracious God. There we will receive his mercy, and we will find grace to help us when we need it most.”
Hebrews 4:16 speaks about how we come to the throne of God and there we find peace and mercy. It is in the coming to the throne of God and the perseverance of asking that we receive mercy and grace to endure the moment we are in.
God may very well know what we are about to ask and for sure knows our needs. However, asking is about opening our life up to God’s presence and allowing God room in our life. Only then will answers and transformation come.
There is still tension around this conversation of prayer for me. However, our asking is about becoming aware of God’s presence and giving room in our life for his power to work.