The primary purpose of prayer

Brittany Rust Sept. 18, 2020

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I was a sixteen-year-old girl who had just given her whole heart to Jesus but knew nothing about the God I now chose to serve. So, to make up for lost time and little knowledge, I threw myself into everything "Christian."

I read the Bible often; was at church as often as possible; consumed every book and sermon I could get my hands on. One thing I embraced early on was the prayer service our youth group offered before Wednesday night youth group.

It was here I first learned how to pray. My youth pastor often said during these times one phrase that really stuck with me: The battle is won in prayer.

I took those words to heart and fought for healing, freedom, and restoration as I came before the throne of Grace in faith. And indeed, God answered so many prayers as shackles fell and provision rolled in time and again. Boy, were those answered prayers faith builders!

As life moved on, I began to grow frustrated that some prayers went unanswered. No matter how hard and often I prayed for good desires, sometimes things just didn't work out the way I had hoped.

I got angry and frustrated with God. I thought that if I just prayed hard enough—that if I really battled—God would answer my prayers. So what was happening? Where was He?

Since then, God has taken me on a journey regarding the power of prayer and its true purpose. I now know that prayer is so much more than asking God for what you want or think you need. Does God care about those prayers and work in and through them? Certainly! But is it the primary reason we converse with Him? I'd say no.

I've come to find that the most valuable aspect of prayer completely defies what we've believed about prayer for so long. Prayer is more about changing us than changing God.

So often we go to prayer for a need and ask God to move. But what if that isn't His will? That's when we become discouraged because we want to believe that God hears our prayers and yet He may not choose to move in such a way. He may withhold meeting that need or choose to go another route. When He does, we have to remind ourselves that in prayer, He may be more concerned with aligning us to His will rather than the other way around.

When Jesus was in the garden, just before His arrest, He prayed to the Father and shared this request:

"My Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as you will."

Jesus was fully committed to the Father's will, and not what He himself desired. And prayer was the vehicle by which Jesus aligned himself with the Father. It was always about the Father's will, which can only be discovered through intimacy.

Even as leaders—who supposedly know how to pray and stay strong in faith—we can grow weary in our unanswered prayers. In those seasons, ask God if there is something He is trying to teach you or an area in which He is asking you to surrender to His will.

Does God answer prayers and respond to your requests? Yes, He graciously does. But remember that prayer is also meant to change your heart, to align you with His desires.

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Brittany Rust has a passion to see people impacted by the power of God’s Word and the beauty of His grace through writing, speaking and podcasting. She is the founder of Truth and Grace Ministries, For the Mama Heart and Truth x Grace Women, and hosts the Truth x Grace Podcast. She is the author of two books, including Here I Am: Responding When God Calls Your Name (2019) and Untouchable: Unraveling the Myth That You’re Too Faithful to Fall (2018). Learn More »

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