All About Relationship

And when you pray, do not keep on babbling like pagans, for they think they will be heard because of their many words. Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him. (Matthew 6:7, 8 NIV)

It was a great week at Vacation Bible School last week.  Cecelia LOVES VBS and she was so excited the entire time.  Those of you who know her know that Cece is not shy and speaking in front of a crowd doesn't scare her in the least.  As a matter of fact, if she sees a microphone, she will do whatever it takes to speak or sing into it.  She had many mike opportunities during VBS as Pastor Chad would ask the group of 40-some kids every evening... "What did you learn yesterday?"  "What did you learn today?"  "What God-sightings did you have?"  And each day at the opening and closing, Pastor Chad would ask for a volunteer to pray.  On the second day at closing, to Cece's delight, she was chosen.  She went to the front of the group, and spoke clearly into the microphone:  "Lord Jesus, Thank you for the food today.  We ate it.  We liked it.  Amen."

That short prayer brought so much joy to my heart.  And it made me think how much more joy it brought to Our Father's heart.  He didn't need fancier words.  He didn't need it to be longer.  And he still knew every request, need and desire in her heart.  I know that God blessed that prayer every bit as much as the prayer done in fasting, tears and bloodied knees.

God already knows what we need before we ask him.  There are no special words to pray or special way to pray that is going to make our prayer heard above all others.  Don't get me wrong.  There are a lot of good books and studies on prayer.  But they are not designed to make God listen more closely or answer more quickly.  Rather, they are designed to teach us how to be a good participant in answering our own prayers.

The point of prayer is mostly for our own good.  What God gets out of it is the joy of the relationship.  It is exactly like that with our own children.  We know what they need.  And we want them to have everything they need and even those things that will bring them joy.  But when they come to us and ask, it builds the relationship.  We get joy out of knowing that they feel comfortable coming to us with their needs and desires.  A first prayer from a small child brings a much joy to God's heart as the final prayer of a great-grandfather on his death bed.

It's all about the relationship building.

Father,
Thank your for the privilidge of prayer.  When we use it, we like it.  Amen.