How To Pray With Purpose

Teleology is a branch of philosophy that studies purpose. It asserts that every goal has a purpose, and all things have a purpose. The same can be said about prayer. Prayer has a purpose. Why do prayers have a purpose? Because when we pray, we aim toward a goal, which is solitude and communion with God. In other words, prayer is not just a senseless uttering that we do, our words just being carried by the wind and brought wherever. When we pray, we are communing with our heavenly Father.

Father in heaven, may I always see the purpose in every prayer I utter: to commune with You, to come before Your throne, to run to You, and to grow in intimacy with You. In Jesus’ name, I pray. Amen.

Is Prayer Meaningless?

It’s understandable if some believers have questioned the meaning and purpose of praying. Some have come to view prayer as a mere tradition or ritual. When life’s difficulties hit them, they question whether prayer makes sense. That question is indeed valid but concerning. After all, everything is meaningless in the eyes of someone who hasn’t found meaning in life and what they’re doing. However, the good news is that prayer does have a meaning and purpose: intimacy with God. 

Teleologists can find the purpose of something by looking at its intended result. For example, a car’s airbag is designed to pop out right when a collision happens. A teleologist can determine from that result that the airbag’s purpose is not merely to pop out a bag full of air. That’s just the design. The airbag aims to mitigate the impact of collisions and keep passengers safe. 

It’s helpful to look at prayer in the same way. We should try to see beyond the mechanical aspect of praying. The words we utter, the essential know-how in prayer, why we should go to a place that will allow us to focus, etc., are essential. However, we have to grasp the very purpose of why we want to go to a quiet place to pray. Why do we make time to pray and come before God? Why must we have prayer as our first resort in life’s difficulties? Just like the airbag’s purpose is to keep the passengers safe, we also have to see and remind ourselves that we pray to grow closer to God.

When we face difficulties, we can cling to prayer, knowing that its purpose is intimacy with God: We can run to none other than Him in prayer, pour our hearts out to Him, cry out to Him, and experience His nearness (Psalm 62:8; Psalm 102:1-2). We must also realize that our purpose in this life is to live for God, to live a life of worship toward Him, make everything that we do glorious to Him, and display His very character toward the world (Psalm 29:1-2; 1 Corinthians 10:31). Since everything is about God, prayer is a means to glorify, adore, worship, praise, and thank God. He is the reason for why we live and whom we live for (Matthew 5:16; Galatians 2:20; Romans 14:8; Philippians 2:17). With these facts in mind, we see that prayer has a significant purpose and also benefits us.

But why do we stress so much about returning to the purpose of prayer? Because knowing the purpose behind it changes our attitude toward prayer. When we know that prayer is grace given to us, that it allows us to spend solitude with God, and that its intended purpose is to commune with God, we will value prayer even more (Colossians 4:2; Ephesians 6:18). Originally, we didn’t deserve to come before God’s throne of grace as sinners. Not only were we separated from Him because of sin (Isaiah 59:2 But your iniquities have separated between you and your God, and your sins have hid his face from you, that he will not hear.), but we were also His enemies because we were sinners (Romans 5:10). We were destitute sinners, recipients of God’s wrath (Ephesians 2:3 Among whom also we all had our conversation in times past in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind; and were by nature the children of wrath, even as others.). However, because God is gracious and merciful, He sent His Son to die for our sins. If one believes in His Son and repents, one is justified and can come before God. Because of Christ, the dividing wall of hostility between God and man has been broken, for sin has already been paid for on the cross. 

But why would God go to such lengths? Because He wanted to initiate reconciliation between Himself and us. That is amazing grace and mercy right there: God, who is the offended party, sought to reconcile us to Him through His Son so that we may be His children (Ephesians 1:5). As His children, we may be in a relationship with Him and experience the gift of His intimacy. One of the ways we foster intimacy with God is through prayer, for just like any relationship, communication is essential. We communicate to God through prayer (Psalm 145:18; Hebrews 4:16; Psalm 27:8).

How Do We Pray With Purpose

In order to pray with purpose, we must keep in our minds and hearts that we’re attempting to commune and grow more intimate with God. That means we can pray without having that purpose in mind and heart, as well. 

In Matthew 6:5-14, Jesus teaches us how to pray. In verse 5, He warns us not to pray like the hypocrites who pray not to commune with God or bless others but to make themselves look good. (This doesn’t mean we can’t say a public prayer). In verse 7, Jesus also warns us not to pray like the Gentiles who heap up empty phrases, thinking that the more words they repeat or say, the more God will hear them. Neither of those two had the purpose of communing and being intimate with God. 

In verse 6, Jesus said that when we pray, we are to pray in private, and there, God, who sees us in secret, will reward us in secret. The reward we get is intimacy with God. Hence, when you pray, do it to commune with God and come before His throne as His child, whether you’re crying out to Him, thanking Him, requesting something from Him, adoring Him, praying for other people, etc.

Heavenly Father, may the purpose of prayer, which is communion with You and growing in intimacy with You, be the motivation for why I pray and keep praying, especially in difficult times. Thank You for giving us the grace in Christ to come before You and commune with You as Your child. In Jesus’ name, I pray. Amen.

Conclusion

Whether you’re going through difficulties and running to God as your refuge, sharing prayer requests to God, thanking God, making supplications for others, or praying for some other reason, may you enjoy the intimacy you spend with God.

Just as airbags are not meaningless accessories but are very important features to protect passengers from a collision, prayer plays an important role in our lives. God has granted prayer a specific purpose. That is why whenever we see passages in the Bible in which God commands us to pray (Philippians 4:6-7; 1 Peter 5:6-7; 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18; Luke 18:1) and even teaches us how to pray (like in the Book of Psalms and in Matthew 6, when Jesus taught His disciples), we are to take his commands and teachings with the utmost sincerity. His commands are for our benefit.

Spending time in God’s Word to renew our minds (Romans 12:2 And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.) and having fellowship with other believers, which allows us to grow with them in spiritual maturity (Hebrews 10:24-25) transforms us. So does prayer. We receive grace as we pray. It’s through prayer that we get to affect important matters in our lives, whether our personal matters, family matters, church matters, or even national matters (1 Timothy 2:1-4). We can also pray for healing upon our brothers and sisters in Christ who are sick (James 5:14-15). There are many more purposes and reasons for why prayer is important. Hence, may we always be faithful in praying.