Why Pray?

Let us lift up our hearts and our hands to God in heaven. (Lamentations 3:41 NIV)

The act of prayer teaches us our own unworthiness. This is a very important lesson for proud beings like us. If God gave us favors without asking us to pray for them, we would never know how poor we were. Through true prayer, we stake our claim on divine wealth, but we also confess our human emptiness. The healthiest state for a Christian is to be always empty of self and constantly dependent on the Lord for supplies-poor in self and rich in Jesus. That is why we pray.

Prayer turns human folly into heavenly wisdom and gives to troubled mortals the peace of God. We thank You, great God, for Your mercy seat. You prove Your marvelous loving-kindness every time. You hear our prayers.

(from a reading of C. Spurgeon)

I remember one summer when I working on an off-shore drilling rig out in the Gulf of Mexico off the Louisiana coast,when a low pressure system developed and the gulf began to become very agitated. There had been a hurricane in that area earlier that summer, and whenever a low pressure developed the rigs would be evacuated. The crew boat was banging against the rig making it scary just getting on it. When we did get started back to land, I found a spot on the boat and prayed. That was another time that I really experienced the peace of God that Spurgeon is talking about.

I want to thank you who have prayed and are still praying for me. I believe that God has answered these prayers, and is continuing to do so.