Why do we pray? Do we pray for practical reasons—is it because it will benefit our physical or psychological needs?
Prayer can be a conscious relationship with God.
I guess, if I am honest, I am compelled to say that I often do pray for those reasons. Many of my prayers ask for some good results, either for me or for someone else.
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Also, I know that I feel comforted when I pray for people who are close to me, even if those prayers are not answered. I feel better about myself in a general way when I pray regularly. I am more centered, more in tune, and less anxious. So, in the end, I guess that I do pray for practical psychological or physical needs.
But is that it? Is there more than that in my motivations?
If I see prayer as a conscious relationship with God, then my motivations change. Why do we spend time with others we care about? As I thought about this, I realized that I enjoy those times with friends or family for some of the same reasons. If I have not had time with friends for some time, I feel out of sorts, a little bit lonely, and ill at ease. When I am around them, though, I feel more complete, more alive.
Still, I am reasonably sure that my only reason is not to feel better about myself. I like being with them because I love them. Honest! I am interested in and concerned about them. The benefits that being with them has is a happy by-product.
In July, I will fly to other cities in the United States on three of the four weekends. It will cost me trouble and time. I do it anyway because they want me there, and I want to be with them. Not very practical, but essential all the same.
Haven’t you spent time with someone who was ill or depressed, even when the time was painful and difficult? Difficult time spent with those we are close to cannot be explained in practical terms. We spend that time because we love these people for their own sake and not because of what they do for us.
There are, of course, times when we need the practical presence of others because of our pain or loneliness. Relationships would not be a mutual affairs if we were always the ones who gave and never were open to receive. But if we are not wholly selfish, we will admit that we care for others for their sakes, not just for what we can get. Could I say the same thing about the relationship I have with God?
Prayer is an intentional relationship that I have with God. Just as I spend time with friends or family because I love them, I also spend time in prayer because I love God and want to be with Him. The desire draws me for “I know not what.” God alone can satisfy my longing. That desire, I believe, is the Spirit of God at work our in our hearts, drawing us ever closer to the one Holy Trinity and a closer union with God.
We pray, then, at our deepest level because the bonds of love draw us. We go to God in prayer because we love him and not just for all the practical purposes He provides. If worship has practical benefits—and I believe that it does—that is because prayer corresponds to our most profound reality. As we are connected to God, we can’t help but experience a sense of deep peace. Still, in the last analysis, the lover does not spend time with the Beloved because of the practical results; the lover wants to be with the Beloved.
Let us pray …