The Purpose of Prayer

The Purpose of Prayer

“In the year of King Uzziah's death I saw the Lord sitting on a throne, lofty and exalted, with the train of His robe filling the temple. Seraphim stood above Him, each having six wings: with two he covered his face, and with two he covered his feet, and with two he flew. And one called out to another and said, "Holy, Holy, Holy, is the LORD of hosts, The whole earth is full of His glory." And the foundations of the thresholds trembled at the voice of him who called out, while the temple was filling with smoke. Then I said, "Woe is me, for I am ruined! Because I am a man of unclean lips, And I live among a people of unclean lips; For my eyes have seen the King, the LORD of hosts." Then one of the seraphim flew to me with a burning coal in his hand, which he had taken from the altar with tongs. He touched my mouth with it and said, "Behold, this has touched your lips; and your iniquity is taken away and your sin is forgiven." Then I heard the voice of the Lord, saying, "Whom shall I send, and who will go for Us?" Then I said, "Here am I. Send me!" (Isaiah 6:1-8)

What is the purpose of prayer? Do we engage in prayer as a mechanical exercise to fulfill the command of our Lord: “Men ought always to pray and not to faint.” Is prayer an elective or is it a prerequisite? Is prayer like a hobby, an optional extra to the main business of living, or is it as vital as breathing, as important as daily bread? Why should, “Men pray and not become discouraged.”

Your answer to this question will either drive you to “pray without ceasing,” or it will drive prayer further out of your life. The proper answer to this question will provide you with an adequate motive for prayer. It will give you the incentive to become a pray-er not only when the road “leads through the valley of the shadow of death,” but also when you dwell “in green pastures and beside the still waters.” It will inspire us to become the Children of God who sincerely engage in heartfelt supplication to God.

Perhaps most of us identify prayer with petition. We pray in order to get things from God, particularly in time of emergency. Certainly this is a valid purpose for prayer. Did not our Lord say, “Ye have not because ye ask not … Ask and ye shall receive, seek and ye shall find, knock and it shall be opened unto you.” But surely prayer is more than getting God to run errands for us, to do for us what we should be doing for ourselves.

The all consuming passion of prayer; the undergirding and over-arching purpose for prayer is to get to know God better. “All that true prayer desires is God Himself.” The Psalmist cried, “As a heart longs for the flowing streams, so longs my soul for thee, O God. My soul thirsts for God, for the living God.” Saint Augustine was so right when he testified, “O Lord, Thou hast made us for Thyself, and our souls are restless until we find rest in Thee” as God gives oxygen that our bodies might live to enjoy the handiwork of God’s creation and the fruit of our labors, so He has empowered us with the ability to pray “that we might know Him, the only true God,” and to enjoy Him forever.

Eight centuries before Christ the young man, Isaiah, went up to the temple to pray. It was a day of national emergency. The great, good and Godly King Uzziah who had governed the kingdom of Judah for 52 years had died. The keystone had been remove from the arch of society and uncertainty reigned in the land. In the place of prayer “Isaiah saw the Lord … high and lifted up.” He heard the host of heaven singing, “Holy, Holy, Holy is the Lord of host: the whole earth is full of His glory.” In prayer Isaiah received a vision of God’s glory and this was followed by a revelation of God’s grace.

Against the backdrop of God’s glorious holiness, Isaiah beheld the iniquity of his own life. He confessed his sin saying, “I am a sinful man, O Lord.” Then God sent an angelic messenger to assure His praying servant that, “your iniquity is purged and your sin is taken away.” The God of glory assured His contrite child that the grace of God was all-sufficient to forgive and cleanse him for all unrighteousness. God declared Isaiah to be one of clean hands and a pure heart, worthy to stand in the presence of the King of Glory. May I suggest, that before we bring our petitions to God in prayer, that we wait before Him until we have gained a vision of his glory and grace.

The wise King Solomon affirmed, “Where there is no vision the people perish.” Where there is no knowledge, no understanding of God “we are of all people most miserable.” As we gain a vision of His glory, that glory will give light to our darkened lives. As we experience His gracious forgiveness, we will be enabled to forgive those who have sinned against us. As we behold His majesty, our lives will become majestic. As we behold Him, the God of peace, His peace “that passeth all understanding” will flood our souls. As we gain a vision of the beauty of His holiness, our lives will radiate that beauty, even as the lily of the filed becomes beautiful by living in the sunlight.

The vision of the glory of God mirrored the true need of Isaiah in this time of emergency. Listen as Isaiah said, “Woe is me: For I am undone; because I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips; for mine eyes have seen the King, the Lord of Host.” God has sent an angelic messenger to assure His praying servant: “Your iniquity is purged and you sin is taken away.” The God of glory made Himself known as the God of Grace.

We need to understand the basic nature and character of the one to whom we offer our petitions. Let us join our voices with those of the heavenly host, “praising God and saying, “Glory to God in the highest.” We need to learn with Moses to “put off our shoes from our feet,” for we are standing upon holy ground. He is a great God and greatly to be praised. He is the “King Eternal, immortal, invisible, the only wise God,” and “unto Him be honor and glory forever and ever.” There is nothing like a glimpse of the glory, power, majesty and honor of God to banish our fears and doubts. We need to see Him who is lifted high up and able … to supply all our needs according to His riches in glory by Jesus Christ. Then let us come boldly to the throne of grace to find help in the hour of need, knowing that He is able to do exceeding abundantly for us above that which we ask or think.

God be praised! He is not only the King of Glory, high above us “whom no man has seen or can see;” He is also the God of grace who comes to man and ministers to man at the point of his need. “In the beginning was the Word, the Word was with God and the Word was God … we beheld His glory … and the Word became flesh and dwelt among us … the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men.”

As we fasten our eyes upon the glory of God, we need to go feast our minds upon His grace. “The Lord is merciful and gracious … He hath not dealt with us after our sins; nor rewarded us according to our iniquities,” “You know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though He was rich for our sakes He became poor, that we through His poverty might be rich.” “God is able to make all grace abound, that we might have all sufficiency in all things.” In every situation of life “His grace is sufficient.” For “the grace of God that bringeth salvation hast appeared to all men.” In the sweet hour of prayer learn that “God giveth grace to the humble.”

Isaiah’s vision of God’s glory and grace caused this response: Here am I Lord, send me.” On the road to Damascus the Apostle Paul had a vision of God’s glory and grace and responded saying, “Lord, what will thou have me to do?” Both of these servants of God placed themselves at God’s disposal. A vision, a knowledge of God created in a deepened sense of vocation. They prayed as did Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane, “not my will but thine be done.”

The purpose of prayer is not to bend God’s will to our will but to bring our will into harmony with His. We pray not to get God on our side but to put ourselves on the side of God. We pray not to get God to perform a great sacrifice for us, He has already made the supreme sacrifice in the person of Jesus Christ, -- but to offer ourselves as a living sacrifice unto Him. “We must not conceive of prayer as overcoming God’s reluctance, but of laying hold of His highest willingness.” (Archbishop Trench)

What then is the purpose of prayer? We pray that we might have a vision of the glory of God and sing with the saints, “Blessing and honor and glory and power be unto our God for ever and ever.”

We pray that we might have a vista of His grace; that we might know “Him, that our minds might be opened to see His light, that we might know the hope to which He has called us, how rich are the wonderful blessings He promises His people, and that we might know how very great is His power at work in us who believe.” (Ephesians 1:17-19)

We pray that we might have a worthy vocation; that we might respond to the God of glory and grace, saying, “I’ll go where you want me to go, I’ll be want you want me to be, I’ll do what you want me to do, I’ll say what you want me to say.”

Dr. Robert W Kirkpatrick

Whitfield Estates Presbyterian Church, September 12, 1971