Needing To Pray

Why do we pray?  Here’s one good reason.

I love the Lord because he hears my voice and my prayer for mercy.  Because he bends down to listen, I will pray as long as I have breath. 

Psalm 116:1-2

God hears us when we pray, even when we’re calling out for mercy we don’t deserve.  He’s waiting for us to shout at Him from a distance, but when we even hardly have the strength to come to He, He’ll bend down to listen so all our words are heard.  What love.  What tenderness.  What attentiveness.

Now thankfully, God doesn’t just hear our but God does something about our needs as we’ve presented them to Him. How do I know? 

The righteous cry out, and the Lord hears them; he delivers them from all their troubles. The Lord is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit.

Psalm 34:17-18

We need deliverance from all sorts of things going on in us and around us.  We are troubled and worried about this and that.  Our hearts ache because of other situations.  We need God to be close to us and save us out of our troubles don’t we?  That’s another reason why we need to pray.

If my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and I will forgive their sin and will heal their land. 

2 Chronicles 7:14

Maybe I’m the only one that needs forgiveness for my sin on a daily basis but that’s another reason why I pray.  God promises to forgive me when I turn away from attitudes, words, and actions, that go against His will and seek to do things His way. 

Lord we appreciate the assurance that You not only hear us but You also forgive our sins and deliver us from all our troubles. 

Help us to keep praying and keep trusting even when we don’t see the kind of solutions we’d like to see.  You certainly know more than we do, and Your heart is always to do the right thing for us at the right time – even when we think You are doing it wrong and not doing it at the right time. 

So Lord, we come in prayer to You today and every day because we need to ensure we are relying on You and not on our own faulty solutions. 

Forgive us.  Heal us. Strengthen us.  Help us to see as You see, care as You care, and act as You guide us, so we can bring reconciliation and healing to everyone we meet.  Amen