Why Do I Pray?
Moreover, as for me, far be it from me that I should sin against the LORD by ceasing to pray for you; 1 Samuel 12:23
Ceasing to Pray – Anyone who claims that prayer is easy hasn’t carefully observed human behavior. Prayer should be easy, but it certainly doesn’t appear to be so. If it were, we would see prayers on the lips of every believer all the time. After all, it is the open channel of communication with our God. But when we look at real behavior, we find that prayer is not a common and consistent daily experience. We discover that most people struggle with prayer. They are uncomfortable when asked to pray publicly. Prayer is one of the last things on their priority lists. They pray when distress comes, but most of the time prayer is only routine thanks at meals and routine supplications in church. Prayer is real work, but it is such strange work that we often have no idea how to effectively accomplish it. We need to listen to Samuel’s voice, “me’khadol le hit’palel.”
Samuel condemns the people of Israel for their insistence on establishing a king. They want to be like other nations. They think that if they have a king, they will gain power, prestige and protection. Samuel knows better. He chastises them, pointing out that God is and always has been their king . . to no avail. They demand a new ruler. God grants their wish, but with terrible consequences, for now they become subjects of human kings. They live under the government of fractured men. They will soon discover that power corrupts.
Samuel sees their folly. He warns them. Then he does something else. He commits himself to prayer on their behalf. In spite of their disobedience, he will not stop praying. The reason he will not stop praying is not about the result. It is about the motivation. Samuel will not stop praying because if he did, he would sin against God. Not to pray is sin! Samuel knows that the tide has turned against God’s order for government. He knows that the days of the theocracy are over. He sees only heartache and ruin in the future. But this does not stop Samuel from praying because to stop praying, in spite of everything, would be sin against God.
There are plenty of days when my prayers seem entirely ineffective. There are seasons when I know that the present choices of others will lead them to terrible consequences. But if I stop praying on their behalf, I commit sin myself, because prayer is not about achieving results. It is about honoring the desire of the Father to communicate with me. Prayer ceases when it is used only as a means to an end. But prayer will never cease if it is the end itself.
God asks us to pray. Make prayer itself your offering to God and you will not sin against Him by withholding what He commands.
