And whatever you ask in My name, that I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If you ask anything in My name, I will do it. (John 14: 13, 14)If God knows not only the past, but also the future, how dare we tell Him what is best for the future? This is a knotty question. There are four parts to the answer given to us in the Bible. First, we pray because we have been motivated to prayer by the very God to whom we pray.
Most of us believe that prayer is initiated by us when we blunder into God's presence wih our requests and concerns. Not at all. Our prayer is response. When a need comes to our mind and we pray, it is because God has an answer to give us for that concern. The answer is ready when we are moved to pray.
Secondly, we pray not so much to change but to receive the mind of God. As we pray our prayers and listen to God, He is able and willing to impress His mind upon us. Thirdly, we pray because God has ordained that there are resources of His power and love which will not be released until we pray. He has called us to be His partners in the world. He desires that we come to Him as children to share our needs with Him.
Lastly, we pray because we are most nearly the brotherhood of man when we pray to our Father God. God seeks to bring us closer to one another through prayer. How exciting it is to realize that through prayer we participate with God in what He desires to do in our lives today!
When Jesus says we can ask for anything, we must remember that our asking must be in His name...that is, according to God's character and will. God will not grant requests contrary to his nature or his will, and we cannot use his name as a magic formula to fulfill our selfish desires.
Prayer is not to change, but to receive, the mind and will of God.
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