›› Why Pray?

A lot of good things will happen to you even if you don’t pray, and a lot of bad things will happen to you even if you do pray. We expect God to send blessings to His friends, but He also showers blessings on His enemies, because they are His enemies and He would like for them to become His friends. He loves His enemies as well as His friends. That’s the good news of the gospel.

Are we only friends with God because of what we hope to get out of Him? If that is our only reason for serving God — to try to gain His blessings for ourselves — then are we really His friends?

The primary purpose of prayer is communication with God. It is not to get answers. [“Answers” refers to blessings. We always receive a response, but may not get the answer we are after.] While it is true that our primary purpose is not to get “things” from God, it is also true that we have been invited to ask Him to meet our needs, and even our wants.

So don’t forget: it is always right to ask! We have been invited to ask. God wants us to ask. We may not receive what we expect, but we are always welcome to ask. ...But the most important reason why we pray is to enter into the deepest fellowship and communion with Him, as He shares His thoughts with us and pours out His heart to us, the way He longs to do.

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Source: Morris L. Venden, The Answer is Prayer. Pacific Press Publishing Association, Boise, Idaho, 1988. 190 pp.