September 4 Petition Mission

“You do not have because you do not ask. You ask and do not receive, because you ask amiss, that you may spend it on your pleasures” (Jas 4:2-3).

Why pray? Doesn’t God know everything? Doesn’t He do what He wants anyway? R.A. Torrey suggests these reasons: Because there’s a devil, and by prayer we can resist Him (Eph 6:12-13, 18); because prayer is God’s way to meet our needs (Lk 11:3-13); because prayer is the way we “find grace to help in time of need” (Heb 4:16); because prayer with thanksgiving obtains freedom from anxiety and receives “the peace of God” (Php 4:6-7). But isn’t the main reason we pray because the Lord is our best Friend, and that’s what best friends do—share everything?

Our verses show that prayer does make a difference. No asking = no answer. But also missing prayer’s target means no answer as well. What is the target? Obviously, to be Godlike in spreading the blessing as far afield as we can to maximize the bond of love and gratitude to God and one another.