Philippians 4:6-7 (NIV)
6 Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.
7 And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
Why do we pray? Philippians 4:6-7 presents us with a common circumstance for prayer – anxiety. When a Christian is anxious everything goes haywire. We cannot control our emotions, which leads to lack of control of our actions. He begins to lose trust in the Lord, panics, and starts looking for solutions and answers with anyone and everything. Then, all we think of, all we want, is the solution.
That’s what we want to avoid – simply looking for solutions or answers. Many think that is what prayer is for – for solutions. But a quick look at Philippians 4:6-7 shows us that prayer is far from just being a vendo machine for answers.
Prayer is an act of faith. Instead of remaining anxious, we should be coming to God in prayer presenting our requests, making them known to Him. What is that? It’s an act of faith.
God knows what we need even before we ask. Jesus Himself told us that (Matthew 6). So why make our requests known to Him? It expresses what we believe – that God is alive, that He hears, that He answers, that He is there for us. Prayer is first an act or expression of our faith.
Prayer also becomes an avenue for God’s peace. Have you ever noticed that verse 7 does not say “and the answer shall be revealed”. It simply says that God’s peace will guard our hearts and minds. No solutions, no answers, no promises – just peace, God’s peace. The first act of God, after we express our faith in Him in prayer, is to assure us that He is there with us, and we have nothing to fear. And this is exactly what we need, more than the answer or solution we are asking for.
We do not pray just for an answer. We are not to come to God simply for a solution. We come to God for God. For Him. His presence, His assurance, His grace holding our hearts, telling us that He is Sovereign. That’s what prayer is primarily for.
Sad to say many use prayer as a way to get what they want. When the only reason we pray to God is for the solution, once the solution does come notice how easy it is for us to forget about God.
But when the very motive of our prayer is for God Himself, that’s when He becomes who He is – our Rock, our Fortress, our Hiding Place. And we don’t leave Him, no matter what the outcome is, no matter what the answer is.
Don’t just come to God for a solution. Don’t pray just to get something. Come to God for God.
