What is the Purpose of Prayer?

One of the things that are hard for a Christian to learn is how to pray to God.  It was also hard for the Disciples. We know that because Luke relates the story of them asking Jesus to teach them how to properly pray (Lk 11: 1-4 & Mt 6:5-15). Contained within these verses is the prayer that we have come to know as the “Lord’s Prayer”. There is much to contemplate in these verses about prayer, but we should focus on, what is the purpose of prayer? We Christians tend to focus on what we want in our prayers. So in the “Lord’s Prayer” we like the verses about giving us our things like, “daily bread”, “forgiveness”, “keeping us from temptation” and tend to forget about the other parts of the prayer. Nowhere in this prayer is there anything that is asked of God that he has not already promised to us.

The main purpose of this prayer and all prayers is to be focused on God, to be used to strengthen our relationship with HIM and to praise and glorify HIM. The Psalmist (Psalm 100, vs.4) tells us to "Enter into His gates with thanksgiving, and into His courts with praise: be thankful unto Him, and bless His name." What we should receive in return from God is the joy of thanksgiving and comfort that he provides to us. The Disciple Group suggestion is that this week when you are frustrated, are happy, are sad or just when you think of it say this simple prayer – “Praise be to God”. We think you’ll find joy in the midst of your living out this week.