Reasons to Pray

Read Habakkuk
 
Habakkuk 3:2-5 I have heard all about you, LORD. I am filled with awe by your amazing works. In this time of our deep need, help us again as you did in years gone by. And in your anger, remember your mercy. 3 I see God moving across the deserts from Edom, the Holy One coming from Mount Paran. His brilliant splendor fills the heavens, and the earth is filled with his praise. 4 His coming is as brilliant as the sunrise. Rays of light flash from his hands, where his awesome power is hidden. 5 Pestilence marches before him; plague follows close behind…19 The Sovereign LORD is my strength! He makes me as surefooted as a deer, able to tread upon the heights. 
 
WHAT causes you to pray? Stop for a minute and consider your answer. What came to mind? I believe that many of us are “trained” to answer that question with things that we or loved ones need. “I pray for a good day. I pray for my wife’s health. I pray for a job.” When asked, “How can we pray for you today?” most people will answer with these types of needs and desires.
   Certainly it is appropriate to pray these petitions. But do you ever answer your reason for prayer with: “I want to ask God, ‘Why is there so much pain in the world? Also, I want to pray to exalt his glory. I want to praise God and celebrate his majesty. Let’s pray with a joyful heart for his promise of salvation.’”
   This wider prayer focus is essentially the scope of Habakkuk’s prophecy in chapters 1 & 2 and then his prayer in chapter 3. As we have seen in each prophet, Habakkuk is distressed over pervasive violence in Judah and the nations around them. He says in Habakkuk 1:4 The law has become paralyzed, and there is no justice in the courts. The wicked far outnumber the righteous, so that justice has become perverted. He looked around at first and only saw the sins of God’s people. Then his message concluded with prayer for these reasons:

1. He praises God’s sovereign power.
2. He petitions God for help.
3. He petitions God to be merciful.
4. He praises God for his power to judge.
5. He petitions God to remove the pestilence and plague of sin from the world.
6. He praises God for bringing his power to earth.
7. He praises God for giving him a sure pathway of life. 

 
   Praising God for his power, petitioning God for his protection from evil and praying for deliverance from sin are good reasons to pray. Jesus pointed us to such prayers in Matthew 6:9-13 “Our Father in heaven, may your name be kept holy. May your Kingdom come soon. May your will be done on earth, as it is in heaven. Give us today the food we need, and forgive us our sins, as we have forgiven those who sin against us. And don’t let us yield to temptation, but rescue us from the evil one.”
   These are some reasons to pray. What others come to mind?