Have you ever asked yourself the question, “If God is all-knowing, and he loves me and wants what’s best for me, why do I need to tell him what He already knows?” Why is prayer so important?
God is omniscient, meaning He’s all-knowing. 1 John 3:19-20, ESV says, “By this we shall know that we are of the truth and reassure our heart before him; for whenever our heart condemns us, God is greater than our heart, and he knows everything.”
Psalms 139:1-4 says, “O Lord, you have searched me and known me! You know when I sit down and when I rise up; you discern my thoughts from afar. You search out my path and my lying down and are acquainted with all my ways. Even before a word is on my tongue, behold, O Lord, you know it altogether”
Wow, what an utterly incredible God we serve! So, what’s the deal, Lord! Why do I need to tell you what is going on?
When we rewind time and think about the initial humans God created, we find that He created them for a purpose. Colossians 1:16 says, “All things were created by him and for him.”
Genesis 3:8 paints for us a picture of what the original relationship between God and Adam and Eve looked like. It says, “Then the man and his wife heard the sound of the Lord God as he was walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and they hid from the Lord God among the trees of the garden.” Later in the story God is looking for them because they were hiding in shame knowing they had made the wrong choice. God came to the garden to meet with them. God didn’t create humanity for entertainment or for amusement. God is a relational Being, and while He didn’t need relationship, He desired it. He created us as humans to have fellowship and connection. God wants to be more than your Creator; He seeks deep relationship.
As a mom, I can know things that are going on in my kid’s lives that they have no idea I know about. I find these details out from friends and family members, their teachers or coaches. The good, the bad and the ugly as the saying goes. It’s one thing for me to hear about my kid’s lives from a friend or a family member, a mentor or coach. It’s on a whole other level when I hear it straight from the horse’s mouth! When my kids begin to share with me what I already know from their own lips it lets me know that they value their relationship with me. It lets me know they feel like they can trust me. Many times, these conversations give me permission and opening doors to put my resources in action, to make an intervention on their behalf.
Our Creator and Heavenly Father knows…. but has He heard it from you? Are you showing God that you trust Him? He desires to hear your life through your heart, with words from your lips! He wants a relationship with you that is made strong through continual communication and communion with Him.
Prayer is not one sided! How ridiculous would it be for me to call my best friend and as soon as she answered, word vomit everything that was going on in my life, then say “thanks for listening, have a great rest of your day, goodbye” …click. I wouldn’t have that friend for very long! Listening is just as important in a relationship, if not more than sharing is. Prayer is just as much about listening to our Father’s heart as it is a means for us to ask for our needs to be met. Prayer should be less like a crisis hotline and more like a facetime conversation between family members that genuinely care about each other. How has your prayer life looked like lately? Has it become one sided?
God wants to know He is genuinely loved by you! Your time is precious, He understand this. When we give God our time, our attention and devotion we are fulfilling our original design and purpose as His creation.
“Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.” 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18
Pastor Ressie Morgan, Assembly Church Sebring