The Offering of Prayer

You may occasionally hear a well-motivated Christian say something like, “God needs praise from His people”, or “God needs His people to do something (like donate, preach, witness, visit someone, etc.).” We have even heard ministers say something like “God needs you to pray (or give or do something) so God can release His power.”

These comments are probably well-meaning and the speaker is trying to motivate other Christians to focus on and be active for the Lord. But strictly speaking such statements aren’t true and could lead to a dangerous misconception about God and prayer.

The Bible is very clear. The infinite God needs nothing. God is omnipotent, omniscient, omnipresent, complete and perfect in every way.

For God to need something He would have to lack something. He cannot. God does not and never has needed anything including the companionship of men or other creatures He created.

Why is this important? Because if we allow ourselves to drift into the error of thinking that somehow our prayers are necessary for God to accomplish His will, we will be praying to a false God. At best, we would be praying to a pale imitation of the God of the Bible. At worst, we begin to construct an idol – a God that suits us, not God as He exists.

God commanded His followers to worship Him in “spirit and truth.”[1] The truth is that for our prayers to be Biblically sound, purposeful, and effective we must understand that God does not need our prayers. Saying that God does not need our prayers, however, is not the end of the story.

While God does not need our prayers to accomplish any purpose or achieve His ends, that does not mean that our prayers are not useful or effective. To the contrary, the Bible assures that the earnest prayers of a righteous person are “powerful and effective.”[2]

How then are prayers that God does not need offerings or gifts to Him?

They are in several ways. Here are just a few:

1.               Our earnest, heartfelt prayers please God. He does not need them to achieve a particular end, but this is quite different from the personal pleasure that God takes in having one of His children seek to please Him. God encourages us to address Him as “Father,” and like all righteous fathers He wants to know His children and for His children to know Him. When we devote time to focus on God in prayer we are demonstrating our love for Him as well as building our relationship with Him. This devotion and dedication is pleasing to God. Imagine that! It is possible for us to give pleasure to the infinite Author of the universe. This alone is a staggering thought. The God that created the universe has so constituted His creation that we cannot only have an individual relationship with Him, but also actually bring joy to His heart. Surely, giving pleasure to another is a form of offering or gift, particularly when the Recipient has no need of anything.[3]

2.               When we offer sincere God-centered prayers for others or ourselves, we join ourselves to God’s work. God ordains not only the ends in His creation, but also the means. He allows us to participate in His plans and purposes. Our willingness to recognize that it is His will and His purposes that we are serving is alone significant. The significance is magnified, however, when we consciously demonstrate that we want to advance His kingdom by doing anything we can, including giving ourselves to prayer that His will be done. Our failure to participate in this work will not impede the success of His plans, but it will mean that we have given up an opportunity to join with Him. Seizing that opportunity joins our means to His ends and is a clear indication of the value we place on Him.

3.               Praying regularly, intently, and purposefully shows God that we are placing our faith in Him and not in ourselves. Hebrews 11:6 says that without faith it is impossible to please God. Faith then has a role in pleasing or not pleasing God. Today many Christians see faith as being a force that they generate from their own resources. This view is at odds with the historic view held from earliest days of the church that faith itself comes from God produced by the indwelling Holy Spirit.[4] Yet it is true that we have the choice to either exercise or not exercise that faith. Like our physical bodies if we choose not to exercise (if we have the capacity to do so – obviously there are some who do not)

over time our physical strength and endurance will decline. It is the same with faith. If we do not use it, our faith will grow flabby and produce little fruit for God’s kingdom. Praying often and thoroughly, i.e. not only focusing on petition, but also including confession, adoration, and thanksgiving, is one way of building our faith. This renders us stronger and fitter for God’s service. This again is a tangible way we give the Lord an offering that sets His priorities over our own. This brings us much nearer to God and strengthens a relationship that He desires and in which He takes joy.[5]

Much more could be said about the role that purposeful prayer plays in pleasing God. Still the previous points illustrate that such prayers are another way in which we present offerings to our Creator and Sustainer. The fact that God does not need our prayers makes our presentation of them to Him an even more important offering. God’s chief ambition for all His children is for them to be holy and be conformed to the image of His Son, Jesus. Frequent, fervent, and focused prayer is a sure sign that God’s goal for our life has become our goal for our life. Such purposeful prayer can yield many amazing results in this life, but more importantly will yield a rich harvest throughout eternity.

Excerpt from Purposeful Prayers by R. D. Fierro

[1] John 4:24

[2] James 5:16, NIV uses the term “powerful and effective”

[3] Hebrews 13:15-16

[4] Galatians 5:22

[5] James 4:8