A View of Prayer

Daniel 9:18-19
(18) O my God, incline your ear and hear. Open your eyes and see our desolations, and the city that is called by your name. For we do not present our pleas before you because of our righteousness, but because of your great mercy.
(19) O Lord, hear; O Lord, forgive. O Lord, pay attention and act. Delay not, for your own sake, O my God, because your city and your people are called by your name."

One of my classmates made a great point about how we tend to view prayer. We are often quick to point out the errors of Open Theism, but we often pray like we really are Open Theists. We have this idea that God doesn't really have a set idea for how He is going to act, but if we just pray enough and get enough people praying then we will move His heart.

Certainly Scripture commands us to pray. Jesus makes it clear that prayer changes things. However, I would maintain that prayer is more about us getting our focus realigned with God's than it is convincing God that what we want is best. If He truly is sovereign then He has made up His mind in how things are going to be. Yet He does use means to accomplish His will and I believe that our prayers are part of that.

Daniel's prayers were radically God-centered. While he may have prayed for his aunt's sore hip at some point we don't have those prayers recorded. What we do have is this example of a prayer that is focused on God's glory with an appeal to God's name. Moses did the same thing when interceding for the disobedient people in the wilderness.

God is zealous for the glory of His name. Let's focus our prayers accordingly, amen?