by Lori Savery-Hinze

Created on: February 27, 2010   Last Updated: March 03, 2010

“Call to Me, and I will answer you; and I will tell you great and unsearchable things you do not know,” Jeremiah 33:3

As Christians, prayer is central to our faith. It is how we develop a deeply personal relationship with God by admitting that we do not have the answers. We are not in control. We are powerless to our sinful thoughts and nature, and it is God’s will we seek to better our lives. We long to do God’s will, and we long for his blessings in the paths we choose. What we often struggle with as Christians is our own voice of doubt. Is God really listening to me? Is God really interested in my everyday worries when there are so many problems in the world? Is it selfish to ask for God’s help?

The answer is simple: God wants us to pray. God knows your heart, and he loves you. He loves you so much, he just wants you to pick up the phone and call so he can hear your voice. Your concerns are his concerns. In John 15:16, Jesus says, “You did not choose me; I chose you…And so the Father will give you whatever you ask of him in my name.” In Matthew 7:7-11, Jesus says, “Ask, and you will receive; seek, and you will find; knock, and the door will be opened to you…As bad as you are, you know how to give good things to your children. How much more, then, will your Father in heaven give good things to those who ask him?” God is called our “Father in heaven.” Like a parent, he loves us and wants what is best for us. He wants to take care of our needs. He wants our lives to be filled with joy and abundance, as Jesus says in John 10:10: “I came that they may have and enjoy life, and have it in abundance.”

As our Father in heaven, God also wants us to understand that he has lessons to teach us. What God desires when we pray is that we humble ourselves and submit to his word. In the book Boundaries, Dr. Henry Cloud and Dr. John Townsend wrote, “The humbling of yourself commanded in the Bible is always coupled with great promises. If you do what you are able-confess, believe, and ask for help-God will do what you are unable to do-bring about change.” This is evident in James 4:10, “Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up.” When you pray, admit to God that you are lost, and that you cannot find the answers on your own. Often, it is when our spirit seems to be at its weakest that we are finally able to hear God’s will for us.

So how

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