The Purpose of Prayer

Continue in prayer, and watch in the same with thanksgiving; Meanwhile praying for us, that God would open to us a door of utterance, to speak the mystery of Chriast, for which I am also in bonds: That I may make it manifest, as I ought to speak. Col, 4:2-4     A pastor is invited to a family's home for sunday supper. Before anyone says grace, the children start to eat. The embarrassed mother gives them a quick reprimand, while the children stare in confusion. The pastor then offers grace in the strained silence.     The mother explains, " We don't always say grace before meals at our house."     Of course, this has been fairly obvious, but the pastor butters his roll and waits, because he knows there is another line to this script.     "We just take it for granted that God knows how thankful we are!"     Why should we pray? God knows how grateful we are. That figures, according to the logic of the dinner table. The trouble with this kind of attitude is that it dosen't stay at the dinner table. It leaves the table and roams all over the house. And soon we find ourselves saying, "Why pray at all? God knows all that we need."  Did not Jesus Himself say that God knows all that we need before we even ask Him? But Jesus' conclusion was, " Therefor,e do pray." This same line of reasoning led Fredrick Speakerman, in his book, Love Is Something You Do, to ask the question, " What if God refuses to read His children's mail unless it is addressed to Him?"     We are to pray that we might commune with God and share with Him the most deeply felt needs of our lives. We are to express to God the gratitude and praise and joy that we feel in Him and in salvation. Paul elaborated on the purpose of prayer in Colossians 4:2-4     1 The purpose of prayer is see in the manner of prayer.(v2)    A. We are to pray with perserverance; Prayer is not a spasmatic outburst in a moment of emergancy, but persistant calling on God for Hid guidance and blessing.   B. We are to pray with watchfulness; This word kiterally means to be wakeful, to be alert when we pray. Prayer should not be reserved solely for times of crisis. We should pray before crisis comes so that we have the spiritual resources to meet the testing time. Napoleon said that battles are not won on the battlefield; rather, they are won at the conference table in the planningmeetings before the battle is ever begun.   C. We are to pray with gratitude.     2. The purpose of prayer is seen in the object of prayer. (v3-4)     A. We are to pray that God will give us an open door of service. Remember that Paul was in prison when he wrote the letter to the colossians. He could have prayed many things while he was in prison-- release, the favorable outcome of the trial, comfort, rest, - but Paul prayed that God would give him an opportunity to minister.    B. We are to pray that God will help us to take advantage of our oppotunity for service. To pray for the open door, an opportunity for service, is just half the prayer. We are to pray also for the courage and ability to take advantage of the opportunity that is there. Paul wanted the Colossians to pray that he might be able to " Speak the mystery of Christ." This should be our prayer too.     This is the purpose of prayer: We prayso that we are in communion with God with persistance, watchfulness, and thankfulness in order to have opportunity to witness for Christ and the strength to take those opportunities.