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Prayer Makes No Sense
I’m not saying we shouldn’t pray, far from it. But prayer as understood by pretty much every Christian in the world is simply irrational.
The average prayer goes something like this “Lord, I’m sick (1), I know You love me (2), so please make me better! (3)”
Let’s break that down by the number next to each part of the prayer above; (1) Prayer informs God that a problem exists; (2) why it needs to be addressed; and (3) what you think should be done about it. Right?
But if you if you really think about it, every part of that is crazy. Because that prayer, like most today, assumes that God doesn’t know (1); doesn’t care (2); or isn’t competent (3). Let’s look at them one at a time:
- If God is indeed all-knowing, then surely He knows we need these things (Luke 12:30). So why does He need you to tell Him? Does this part of the prayer really make sense?
- If God is indeed love, “not willing that any should perish” (2 Peter 3:9), then surely God is already concerned about the problem. And you, or a thousand people like you, begging Him to address it can’t possibly compare to His own love for His children... can it?
- If God’s thoughts really are “as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are... my thoughts than your thoughts” (Isaiah 55:8-9), then what could you possibly add to God’s decision-making process?
Really, what are you bringing to the table here? Do you know ANYTHING about the bigger picture here? So why would God ever listen to you?
Scratch that... why would you want Him to listen to you?
Slow down, stop hyperventilating in shock, and think this through.
God knew, long before you did, that this person was sick; God loves them enough to die for them – something you probably wouldn’t do. And God is the only person who actually can fix them.
So why pray at all?
If God wanted hospitals emptied... then wouldn’t they already BE emptied? Would He really be waiting around for you to ask?
If God wanted righteous leaders over your country or church, wouldn’t they already be there? (1 Samuel 12:14-15, 25; Daniel 4:17).
If God wanted our troops protected, God would do it (Psalm 33:16, Proverbs 21:31, etc.). And He would do it whether you asked Him to do it or not.
Again: I’m not saying we shouldn’t pray. The Bible is full of examples and commands to pray. But prayer as practiced today makes absolutely no sense at all.