What Happens When We Pray

Right before Jesus offers up the Lord's prayer, He tells us that "God knows what you need before you ask Him." In our classic, efficient, American fashion, that seems counterintuitive. We scratch our heads and wonder, "So, why should I bother to pray if He already knows what I am going to pray?" 

It may feel like Christ is providing us a reason not to pray, but in typical Jesus' fashion, He's indirectly explaining why prayer is crucial and essential. There's so much more going on behind the scenes during our prayer time than we may realize. Let's take a closer look at what happens when we pray:

We tend to our connection with Christ.

We get to know someone through conversations and shared experiences over time. Relationships rarely flourish from a distance; healthy bonds demand proximity, intentionality, and investment. The miracle of prayer is not the answers we receive but the access we have to our Creator. If revelation is the way of relationships, then prayer is the language of connection. 

We remind ourselves that we stand forgiven and that God is worthy of our worship.

While the world tells us we need to earn our worth and value through our performance, prayer reminds us that we stand secure in His love and faithfulness. Prayer puts words to our encounter with Christ. First, we praise Him for who He is and what He has done. He is God, and He is good, and in our prayers, we acknowledge this reality. He is the only One worthy of our praise. Second, when the world tries to tear us down and beat us up, we utilize worship and prayer as a weapon. When the enemy speaks lies, we shout praises to the One who fights for us. When nothing makes sense, we remind ourselves that God never lets us down, and His unfailing love continues forever. 

We find a safe environment to process our questions, struggles, and emotions.

God desires to connect with us, amid our questions and concerns. He is not afraid of our hesitation and doubt. On the contrary, God welcomes dialogue and meets our restless hearts with love and grace. Many of us attempt to understand Jesus through the lens of our limited perspective. Instead, we should process our circumstances through the lens of our relationship with Christ. The context of this relationship changes how we think about everything else.

We take the weight of the world off our shoulders.

We reflect God's heart more, not when we're trying to be the Savior of the world, but when we savor spending time seeking and pursuing God. Standing in awe of God was important to Jesus, so it's critical for us. We display humility when we retreat and reflect. Through our prayers, we proclaim that there's only one God, and we're not Him. Whether we are praying for ourselves or those we care about, we're acknowledging someone else is the center of the universe.

We loosen our grip on control and display humility.

Inadequacy and intimidation can plague one's prayer life, but nothing jeopardizes it quite like the battle over control. Most prayers we see in the Bible seem to originate from this place. The Psalmists cried out to God for help and wisdom because they realized they were not the ones orchestrating their days. In today's culture, many pray only as a last resort. After we have gone down every avenue and exhausted all our efforts, then and only then do we give up control and turn to prayer. Intentional prayer, and seeing prayer as communion, get us to a place of surrender before our circumstances demand it. 

We rely on a strength outside of ourselves.

Without difficulties, we are all apt to become prideful. Admitting weakness is the first step to finding strength. Perfect strength resides in dependence on God. His power is fully realized, fully seen, and fully experienced in our weaknesses. God is strong for us in ways we could never be strong for ourselves. Let’s admit our struggles, allowing Him into the places where our strength is insufficient, but His strength is more than enough. 

We display our trust in God and His timing while gaining perspective on our circumstances.

God encourages us to remain in His love, which is challenging. We either fall behind and give up when our circumstances don't change, or we rush ahead and leave Christ in the dust while trying to tackle our issues alone. We don't need to rush but instead remain. The idea of remaining in His love seems stationary, but it's not. It's active and intentional. Trust is discovered through a step of faith, which involves movement and momentum. Faith saves while hope sustains us on our journey.

When we consider all of this, prayer no longer feels like an obligation, unnecessary, or trivial; we see prayer for what it  is - a gracious gift, an opportunity for transformation, and the refresher our hearts and souls desperately need.