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Why Are We Praying Anyway?

Updated on July 28, 2016

Why Pray?

Do we really need to?

Why do we pray? If we believe God loves us, why do we have to agonize in prayer? God tells us it is His will for us to pray, but why? There must be a reason beyond "just because."

Everything begins in the book of Genesis.

  • And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth. Genesis 1:26
  • And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth Genesis 1:28

God's First Gift to Man

The first gift God gave to man was life. He made man a living soul. The next gift God gave to man was dominion over the earth. When you give someone dominion, you are giving them the right to rule, reign, manage, control and govern.

Adam and Eve had been given dominion over everything on the surface of the earth, the seas of the earth and the immediate atmosphere surrounding the earth. Unfortunately, for them and for us, they gave their dominion away.


Disobedience Costs

When Adam and Eve disobeyed God, they turned their dominion and authority over to Satan. He now had the right to rule, reign, manage, control and govern the earth. Adam and Eve no longer had dominion or authority over anything.

What Else Did it Cost?

That act of disobedience not only cost Adam and Eve their dominion and authority over the earth, but it also cost them their fellowship with God. They died spiritually. Disobedience separated them from God, and separation from God is spiritual death.

There is more

  • Disobedience cost them their immunity to physical death. Physical death was now a certainty for them both. "But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die." (Genesis 2:17).
  • Disobedience cost them their "sweat-less" labor card. No longer would the earth, the animals, the sea, the sea creatures, the sky and the sky creatures easily yield to Adam and Eve. Now every grain grown would be done so through hard, laborious sweat-filled work.

    »"And unto Adam he [God] said, Because thou hast hearkened unto the voice of thy wife, and hast eaten of the tree, of which I commanded thee, saying, Thou shalt not eat of it: cursed [is] the ground for thy sake; in sorrow shalt thou eat [of] it all the days of thy life; (18)Thorns also and thistles shall it bring forth to thee; and thou shalt eat the herb of the field; (19) In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto the ground; for out of it wast thou taken: for dust thou [art], and unto dust shalt thou return." (Genesis 3:17-19)«
  • Disobedience costs them access to the presence of God. To ensure Adam and Eve remained separated from God, angels were set at the entrance of the garden barring them from being able to enter ever again.

    »So he drove out the man; and he placed at the east of the garden of Eden Cherubims, and a flaming sword which turned every way, to keep the way of the tree of life. (Genesis 3:24) «
  • Disobedience costs and denied every one of the descendants of Adam and Eve [that would be all mankind] direct access to God. It separated every one who would ever be born on this earth from the presence of God.

Source

And.....?

Their sin not only separated us from God, but it separated God from getting to us...... without our request.

Don't get it wrong, of course God is sovereign and able to do anything He wants to do. But, He has bound Himself by His Word. He will not override His Word. The manifestation of God's hand in any of our lives is seen because someone prayed.

Why do you think He cut a covenant with Abraham? It was so He could legally get back into the earth. All of those rituals, sacrifices, observations etc. were to give God legal rights to work on behalf of mankind.

It is like the fine print in a contract. If mankind obeyed God's commands in anyway, God could help mankind.

Two Types of Sin

This is where some people get confused. There are two types of sin.

  • Sin passed on from Adam and Eve, commonly referred to as "original sin", and
  • Sin that is the outgrowth of "original sin" (you do not commit "original sin" - it is a part of your nature.)

The sin that separates us from God is original sin, this is the sin passed on through Adam and Eve. The sin we commit is the sin that grows out of "original sin". If you want to get rid of the second type of sin, you have to get rid of the "original sin".

This scripture in Romans is referring to "original sin".

"All have sinned and come short of the glory of God ". (Romans 3:23).

Source

What a Friend We Have in Jesus

Prayer Legally Let's God In

Although God is sovereign, He is also bound by His Word. Papa Adam and Mama Eve's sin partially locked God out of the earth. I know this cuts across all of your theology, but you'll be ok.

When we pray, in Jesus Name, we open the door for God to move on our behalf. We should pray for ourselves and we should pray for others. Prayer is a powerful tool given to us to use in every situation.

Prayer changes things and prayer changes us. There is an old song that has these words among its lyrics:

"What a friend we have in Jesus,
All our sins and griefs to bear!
What a privilege to carry
Everything to God in prayer!
Oh, what peace we often forfeit,
Oh, what needless pain we bear,
All because we do not carry
Everything to God in prayer"

We Just Got Stuck

It's not our fault that things are the way that they are. It's doubtful that had you been either Adam or Eve you would have done anything differently. So, instead of griping about having to pray, or needing to pray, or whether or not you should pray, just do the easiest thing.....pray.

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