For many people prayer is a complicated task. There are rules and methods to follow. There are many Christian books explaining how to pray. How to get through to God. Why is your prayer not working. Why do some prayers get good results while others disappoint us. There are a thousand books to read to learn about prayers that work and prayers that go unanswered. I have my opinions. Others may disagree with me, but this is an explanation of how I see prayer in the life of someone following Jesus.
First and perhaps most important is the fact that God is not Santa Claus. Sounds like a strange statement. Many people pray hoping to get the things they want. Maybe it is instant healing, instant pregnancy, or a raise tomorrow. Some prayers are for others to change, be healed, or stop causing so much trouble. It is true that not all prayers are answered and sometimes the answer is very different than what we want or expect. It is good to go to God in prayer and to have the faith to believe he is listening. But sometimes people only ask God as though he is an absent benefactor similar to a child’s view of Santa Claus. If I am good and follow all the rules, then God should give me what I want.
We never ask Santa Claus what he wants. Maybe we leave cookies and milk for him and carrots for the reindeer but otherwise Santa has no needs. We are taught that God has no needs. That he is content and sufficient in himself. Unlike us he possess all the power, all the wisdom, all the love, all the contentment, all of everything. Unlike us he has no needs.
Isaiah 53 is an Old Testament prophecy of the coming Messiah, Jesus. Who was despised and suffered much for us. For our sins. He bore the burden of sin and death to prevent us from bearing the same burden.
In Isaiah 53:11, it says, “After he has suffered, he will see the light of life and be satisfied; by his knowledge my righteous servant will justify many, and he will bear their iniquities.”.
God chose to restore a relationship with stiff necked humanity by dying a gruesome and painful death. Jesus took our punishment upon himself. In the garden before Jesus was arrested, he spoke about his power to avoid his future death. In Matthew 26:53 Jesus says, “Do you think I cannot call on my Father, and he will at once put at my disposal more than twelve legions of angels?” Jesus was capable of refusing to be crucified. He had the power to stop it. No one took Jesus’ life. Yes, the Romans nailed him to the cross. Some of the Jewish leaders demanded it to happen. Pontius Pilate gave the order. But Jesus allowed it to happen. He chose to follow the Father’s will and suffer for humanity. The God who has everything was willing to suffer to spare us from eternal damnation. Why would God put his power, glory, and strength aside to save us?
Some Christians think Jesus suffered so we will not need to suffer. It is true we will not suffer eternal separation from God, if we chose to follow Jesus. To trust and obey him. Jesus said in this world we will have persecutions. Mark 10:29-31. Saul who became Paul is an example of a Christian facing many persecutions for spreading the Good News of Christ.
2 Corinthians 11:23-26
23 Are they servants of Christ? (I am out of my mind to talk like this.) I am more. I have worked much harder, been in prison more frequently, been flogged more severely, and been exposed to death again and again. 24 Five times I received from the Jews the forty lashes minus one. 25 Three times I was beaten with rods, once I was pelted with stones, three times I was shipwrecked, I spent a night and a day in the open sea, 26 I have been constantly on the move. I have been in danger from rivers, in danger from bandits, in danger from my fellow Jews, in danger from Gentiles; in danger in the city, in danger in the country, in danger at sea; and in danger from false believers.
According to World Watch List 2025 · Serving Persecuted Christians Worldwide there are 380 million persecuted Christians in the world today. Some are tortured and killed. Some are forced to flee their homes. Some are denied privileges given to non-Christians. Many are hated and mocked. These 380 persecuted Christians may feel that their prayers are not answered.
Let’s consider what does God want rather than what do we want. If God has all the power to change our lives and He has no needs himself then what is He doing? God created humanity in the garden of Eden. Over thousands of years God has slowly reveled himself. First in the garden, then through Noah and his family. Then through Abraham and his family. Then through Moses and the Hebrews. Then through a government and worship system in ancient Israel with judges, prophets, kings, blessings, and curses. Then through His son, Jesus’ teachings and sacrifice for us. In the past two thousand years He has worked through the church, with millions of people, dozens of wars, divisions, and a ever evolving understanding of who God is and what He believes.
God’s plan for humanity is long lived and complicated to us. Yet, it is also very simple from the beginning. He wants to raise up children who understand as He understands. He wants us to have the mind of Christ Romans 15:5. The power of the indwelling Holy Spirit. Luke 11:13, 1Corinthians 16:9. He wants to be our leader, but also our friend. He has spent thousands of years leading stiff necked humanity into an understanding of who God is and what we can be if we follow His ways. He wants us to live in peace and unity as He does. He is willing to bless us with many things. But he wants a great deal more for us than to be blessed. He wants spiritual maturity, so we are able to communicate with Him at a deeper level.
As human parents, we want more for our children than to see them blessed with the many things we give them. We want them to grow up to be mature adults, with loving relationships, possess compassion and empathy for others. At least I hope we do. Good parents give good presents to their children. Good parents also say no to many of their children’s wants. Good parents even insist on things such as school attendance, doctor visits, learning manners, monitoring their friends and many other things.
When we pray to God, we need to consider more than our needs. We need to consider the bigger, centuries-old picture. God wants more than to bless us. He wants us to become spiritual mature Christians who can help others move further down the road into a deeper relationship with God.
It is good to take our needs to God. But we need to remember to pray for more than what we need. We need to also pray that we will have the mind of Christ and that we will develop the fruits of the Spirit. Pray that we will do the things God want us to do rather than simply satisfying ourselves. There are so many needs in our communities and in the world. We should not lose sight of the bigger plan God has for the world. God want everyone in the world to come into relationship with Him through Jesus’ saving grace. He want us all to exist in unity with the knowledge of Christ.
For God, who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” made his light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of God’s glory displayed in the face of Christ.