Matthew 6:6-8 English Standard Version

6 But when you pray, go into your room and shut the door and pray to your Father who is in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you. 7 “And when you pray, do not heap up empty phrases as the Gentiles do, for they think that they will be heard for their many words. 8 Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him.

We are not all alike and yet since “we” are the body of Christ, being many different parts, “we” all answer to the “head”, our Lord. This is a simple principle to complex situations.

God knows what we need. Do we?

James 4:3 You ask and do not receive, because you ask wrongly, to spend it on your passions.

That is a clear commentary of the content of many prayers, that many ask for what they want rather than what they need.

• Psalm 5:8 Lead me, O Lord, in your righteousness because of my enemies; make your way straight before me.
• Psalm 25:5 Lead me in your truth and teach me, for you are the God of my salvation; for you I wait all the day long.
• Psalm 27:11 Teach me your way, O Lord, and lead me on a level path because of my enemies.

Since He is Lord and the head of the body and “we” listen to Him, those are some examples of prayers that just might steer us away from praying from a place of self-interest.

My personal favorite as I open up His Word each day is: “Where are we going today?”

Is what we pray for insignificant in the eyes of our Lord? We are told after all; Galatians 6:2 “Bear one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ.” If our prayers are for the needs of others, it is not a bad thing.

Bearing the burdens of others goes beyond prayer. Many times we don’t have the resources to help so many people that have a greater need than our own.

Franklin Graham recently said in an ad from North Carolina, “I don’t need your money, I need your prayers.” Now that is one extreme demonstration of faith in prayer. He had money, he had people on the ground, what he needed was our prayers. That is not an unreasonable request.

Have “we” neglected to pray because “we” don’t think God will answer?

James 5:16b The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working.