“Do We or should We Pray to Ask God to Give us Something or Get Something?” by Andrew J. Schatkin

“Do We or should We Pray to Ask God to Give us Something or Get Something?” by Andrew J. Schatkin

Today, I propose to analyze and attempt to answer the question, should we pray to ask god to give us something or get something? I would like to answer this question by defining what prayer is and why we pray and are commanded to pray. Prayer is how we communicate with god; we pray because god whose essence is eternal love and whose love is undying for all his creatures men and women and for all his creation wants to know us and know us more completely because we are his children and his creation. And so we can and do ask for what we may want from god and he allows us to make this request to get something not because he is a source of gifts and the grantor of requests but because he wants and greatly wants a continuous and continued relationship with us; and as our creator and father of us all he entertains all the thoughts and concerns we may direct to him. Children always and every minute ask for things from their parents and months before Christmas ask what they are getting for Christmas. Parents in hearing these requests hear their children in love and that is what is occurring in this dynamic. In the same way, god is not some sort of eternal Santa Claus, but understands our making these requests hears us and loves us. In these requests and in hearing these requests he shows his love. He hears our prayers and requests not to grant or not grant what we want or ask for but because in our prayers, whatever, is in them and whatever we say, the goal and reason is the love and relationship god wants for us and wishes to share with us to the end of time.