God Does Not Need Our Prayers

God does not need our prayers. God can do whatever He wants to do without our prayers. The Almighty is All Mighty. He does not need our help. He is strong enough and smart enough to do anything He likes. If God wanted to, He could immediately and instantly eliminate all evil and suffering from the universe by simply commanding it to be gone. He could establish everlasting righteousness and peace by simply willing it to be done right now.

God does not need our prayers. Yet for some reason, He has decreed that people should pray. Apparently God has decided that He will act in response to the prayers of His people. What God does on the earth and in the heavenly realm He does by the power of His Spirit, but He does it in response to the prayers of His people. Therefore it is of the utmost importance that we "pray without ceasing" (1 Thes. 5:17).

The reason God decided He will act in response to the prayers of His people is not fully explained in the Bible, but one reason is hinted at in Psalm chapter eight. "Out of the mouth of babes and sucklings hast Thou ordained strength because of Thine enemies, that Thou mightest still the enemy and the avenger" (Ps. 8:2).

Even though God could forever silence His enemy the Devil with just a snap of His fingers, He has decided instead to use the praying mouths of babes and sucklings. The fact that Satan's defeat will be administered by the prayers of weak, sinful men who have been redeemed and sanctified will make the Devil's defeat more humiliating than if God had simply willed Satan out of existence.

This revelation caused David to consider the heavens, the moon and the stars, and to ask, "What is man, that Thou hast made him? And the son of man, that Thou visitest him?" (Ps. 8:4).

We have been given a great privilege and honor to labor together with the Creator of the universe through our prayers. What happens in time and in eternity will happen in response to our prayers. Our prayer, or our lack of prayer, will affect the eternal destiny of men's souls. If that does not motivate you to pray, I don't know what will.

"Let my prayer be set before Thee as incense; and the lifting up of my hands as the evening sacrifice" (Ps. 141:2).

| DB

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Image: Psalm 8 by Daniel Botkin from his Psurrealistic Psalms gallery. See more of Daniel’s artwork on his art website, DanielBotkin.