What is the Point of Praying?

1 Thessalonians 5:17 & Colossians 4:2
The Rev. Dr. Robert S. Langworthy, preaching
June 29, 2025

An expert on prayer gave a seminar at a conference.  During a question-and-answer time, a woman raised her hand and put him on the spot, saying, “Tell us simply:  How exactly should we pray?”  “OK,” he replied with a warm smile, “Just pray, and ask God to tell you!”

We find out how to pray by beginning to pray.  And beginning is easy for anyone.  If you can talk with someone who genuinely cares about you, you can talk with God, for God cares about you more than anyone.

We may want to think that praying is mastering some mystical method, a practice too high and holy for most of us, because then we’d then have an excuse for not getting around to it.  But in truth it’s something even the most sinful, silly or shallow of us can do if we’re of a mind to.

And what would make us of a mind to?  Seeing the point of praying.  And how do we see the point of it?  By grasping the essence of prayer.

Prayer is first and foremost a human being interacting with the divine Being, in a personal back-and-forth dialogue, with the wiser of the two predominating.

Such praying makes us present to God’s Presence.  By such praying we grow aware of His nearness and kindness.  We face the reality of who He is; and what He has done, is doing and would do. Prayer thereby opens up within us a way that is wide enough for God grace to enter into our soul, for our sake and the sake of those He’d have us serve.

Prayer then is not so much getting things from God as getting God into everything about us, into our character and into our conduct.  It’s getting made right by God and growing into those who embody God’s compassion, justice and saving grace in Christ.

Prayer never changes God; but, if done correctly, it changes us.  When we draw close to God and become fully present to Him, His character rubs off on us.  When we engage with Him, heart to heart and mind to mind, His passions and priorities fire us up with the Holy Spirit’s power – and we become different and better people.

Once we see prayer as the development of an attitude of appreciation for God and of dedication to doing His will, the idea of praying “without ceasing” makes sense.  It is not endlessly running off at the mouth to God, but consistently inclining our ear to pick up anything He’d like to say to us. It is not endlessly working on God to get from Him what we want, but letting God consistently work on us to get from us what He wants: a happy person for whom He is their central concern and for whom fulfilling His agenda is their greatest ambition.

Of course, praying involves asking for our daily bread, guidance and inner strength; but, as we mature in our praying, our having our turn at speaking becomes more what Eugene Peterson describes as “answering speech”.  In answering speech, we allow God to have the first word as well as the last.  We allow God to initiate and shape the conversation, and make our speaking responsive and deferential to His.  We end up, in our praying, spending more time listening than talking.

To pray without ceasing then is to maintain a certain disposition of soul.  It is to continually bear God in mind, stay attentive to His agenda, consult with Him in our decision-making and seek to bring Him pleasure and honor by putting flesh on our faith in this needy world.

Praying without ceasing is to share all our life with God and to think of God constantly.

A number of times, the Bible compares an ideal relationship between God and a human being to an ideal marriage.  In an ideal marriage two people live out their lives against the backdrop of their covenantal relationship.  They cannot forget the one to whom they’ve committed themselves until death do them part, and thus they cannot consider any possibility without considering what the other might think of it.  In an ideal marriage, each person is ever ready to listen to the other and to serve their interests.  And when something is much on either’s mind or heart, they can’t help but say to themselves, “I must talk to my dearest about this!”

To pray without ceasing is to engage in the same dynamic with God.

Our second scripture for today encourages certain practices in support of that dynamic.  It tells those who follow Jesus to “devote” themselves to prayer.  They are, with resolute determination, to persevere in the open-ended conversation and vigilantly guard against distractions that might derail it.  To preserve the dialogue as a regular interchange integral to their life, they exercise focused and sustained attentiveness.

Today’s second scripture also tells those who follow Jesus to “keep alert” in prayer.  They are to keep a sharp eye on their own spiritual state to watch out for creeping complacency and increasingly lukewarm commitment.  They’re also to keep a sharp eye on the needs of others to catch sight of opportunities to enact their prayers in helpful, concrete action.

Finally, today’s second scripture tells them to do all this “with thanksgiving” – that is, with deep gratitude for God’s blessings and for the chances God gives to return thanks for those blessings by blessing others. They are to praise God for being behind every good thing in their life and for involving them in so many of the good things God is up to.

What is the point of praying?  To keep us talking and walking with the One who is our greatest good and who gives us the privilege of bringing His goodness to others.

How then do we keep constant in prayer?  By just doing it as best we can and depending on God to teach us “on the job” so to speak.  If we only make a little time with God a part of our regular start-of-the-day ritual – say, to offer up ourselves into His service – a little time with God a part of our regular end-of-the day ritual – say, to thank Him for that day’s gifts of grace – and little moments with God throughout the day – say, to pause and prayerfully reflect on things prompted by what we’ve written on our calendar or programmed into our smart phone alerts, we will have gone a long way to know more fully the point of praying: our becoming people who experience the joyous fulfillment of accompanying God as He goes about His business and collaborating with God to make life better for everyone – including ourselves!