What is the Point of Prayer?

I have been in the presence of people who make me feel very small. In my years as Director of C.O.P.E., I was interviewed many times, and I rarely slept well the night before. I was nervous even though I was committed to my cause.

In prayer, I am approaching the Creator of all: Someone who makes me feel immeasurably small when I consider His Sovereignty. How can I do anything but fall silent in such presence? How can I believe that whatever I say matters to God?

The Bible sometimes emphasizes the distance between humans and God, and sometimes the closeness. Without question, though, Jesus Himself taught us to count on the closeness. In His own prayers He used the word Abba (Daddy), an informal address that Jews had not previously used in prayer. A new way of praying was born.

Jesus understood, better than anyone, the vast difference between God and human beings. Yet He did not question the personal concern of God, who watches over sparrows and counts the hairs on our heads. He valued prayer enough to spend many hours at the task.

So if you're wondering what the point of prayer is, it would be because Jesus prayed! See Matthew 14:25: When [Jesus] had sent the multitudes away, He went up on the mountain by Himself to pray.

2008 April Lorier | Related Posts

APRIL LORIER - So. California. An award-winning poet, inspirational author and speaker. She first gained recognition as a children's rights crusader while successfully fighting for the passage of the Child Abuse and Neglect Reporting Act (CANRA), which was signed into law by Ronald Reagan.